Money Mark was due for a vocal album after the instrumental Change Is Coming, and he was long due for
any kind of release, considering it had been five and a half years since that record. So, praise is due to
Jack Johnson for green-lighting the recording of
Brand New by Tomorrow on his Brushfire label after he heard some early demos. (The two share a friend and producer in Mario Caldato, Jr.) Although
Johnson and
Money Mark don't seem to have much in common on the surface, their laid-back approach to the music of the '70s is similar -- be it singer/songwriter pop or funk -- and their one collaboration here, "Pick Up the Pieces," is a happy marriage. (Fortunately,
Johnson's help is limited to the songwriting.) Elsewhere,
Mark is just as spot-on with his songwriting and his gadgety one-man-band playing, although the vocals take more of the limelight than on past records. (Apparently, the drums on the early demos were a little harder before Caldato produced a mix that had, as
Mark put it, "more wrist and less forearm.") He's only improved as a vocalist, often double-tracking his vocals for ghostly harmony, and keeping his instrumental prowess to just a few tricks per song.
Mark described this as a post-9/11 record (Change Is Coming was released in early September 2001), and there are elements of sadness or melancholia to songs like "Everyday I Die a Little," "Summer Blue," and "Color of Your Blues," but
Mark's laid-back stride keeps the affair surprisingly buoyant. ~ John Bush, Rovi
