[.ca] Brand New By Tomorrow (Digi)

Story of faded glory:
The erstwhile Beastie Boy known as Money Mark (Mark Ramos-Nishita) has been skipping genres ever since he started releasing solo albums. One of those artists that's difficult to pin down, artistically speaking. And in "Brand New By Tomorrow," he changes sounds about a dozen times, seamlessly skipping through styles like a stone over water -- a sort of folky Beatlesy pop inflected with some delightful electronica, with songwriting that hovers somewhere between introspection and depression. It opens on a strong note: "Color of Your Blues," which tries to reshape the traditional blues with some grinding fuzzy guitar and a backing chorus during certain lines. "I feel naked wherever I go/people can see/it's in my face/and when I breathe/it's the story of faded glory/life is made up of all that you lose," Mark sings quietly. He follows that up with a series of pop songs that hit an unusually eclectic note -- peppy pop with violins and drums, blippy electropop, mellow guitar tunes, tinkly little ballads, folksy-edged pop melodies, and your ordinary guitarpop laced with sharp, rapid beats. Then in the last song, he goes completely wild -- a crazy, funky dancepop tune! "Brand New By Tomorrow" isn't quite Money Mark's most inspired piece of work -- that would have to be 1998's "Push The Button." This album even sounds a bit like it, with its electic pop pieces. But "Brand New By Tomorrow" is more focused on its theme than on trying out new sounds. Part of that comes from Mark's voice -- a little rough and gravelly, and even light at times, as if he is hiding his feelings. And he can twist electronica, guitar, drums and a bit of strings into whatever kind of song, and whatever mood. Tinkly stuff, warm guitars, or just complex twining pop tunes, with layers of strings just under the retro synth and solid drums. It's more cheerful than his lyrics, which seem to be centered on the decay of a relationship. His poignant writing is full of "faded glory," black butterflies, and other bittersweet topics. "Everyday I Die A Little" overdoes the angst, but in most other songs he strikes the delicate balance between being sad and being mopey. "Pretend you sleep/it's your security/no one can wake you/don't fade tonight..." he sings sadly over a quiet guitar. Money Mark is in good form in "Brand New By Tomorrow," which doesn't forge much new territory, but deserves kudos for being a musically adept, appealingly bittersweet piece of work. Very solid.

• Color of Your Blues
• Pick Up the Pieces
• Summer Blue
• Pretend to Sleep
• My Loss, Your Gain
• Everyday I Die a Little
• Radiate Nothing
• Black Butterfly
• Nice to Me
• Eyes That Ring
• Brand New by Tomorrow