Carolyn Mark
The Pros and Cons of Collaboration
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Carolyn Mark
The Pros and Cons of Collaboration
Mint, 2005
RiYL: Robbie Fulks, Neko Case |
That said, Mark is a solid singer and capable of weaving a few tales of delight, along side a few hummable melodies and jazzy surprises. Her new album The Pros and Cons of Collaboration would perhaps be more appropriately called A Conversation with Carolyn Mark, as most of the tunes are about casual events. This is the sort of thing Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza would’ve pitched if they were trying to strike a record deal instead of a T.V. contract: An album about nothing. Many songs are narratives about her day, a dream, or an over-the-top Thanksgiving. This mock “diary” works on most occasions, but does wear thin and fall short on others.
But first things first, let me introduce you to Ms Carolyn Mark. She is best known for her on-and-off work with the lovely and talented Neko Case, the songstress whom everyone loves and no critics dare print a negative word. Hell, I’m guilty, so there. Case and Mark perform sporadically as the Corn Sisters, an acoustic duo performing old-school country ballads and original material. The two released a live album in 2001 of a performance in a small club in Seattle. In mid-2003, Case, Mark and Chicago singer/songwriter performed a handful of shows in Chicago, New York and (gasp!) Washington, DC, in a round-robin showcase fashion, where each singer took turns performing their material.
Although Case tended to dominate the performances, Mark’s casual confidence seemed to anchor the trio. This casual confidence is found throughout her latest album, and her voice has improved tenfold from her sometimes nasally performance on the Corn Sisters live album.
But not everything on Pros and Cons is dynamite, and Mark lets her Seinfeld-esque tendencies get the best of her too often. Although some songs like “Chantal and Leroy,” “2 Days Smug and Sober” and “Yanksgiving” are solid and honest Lou Reed-like numbers, others—“Vincent Gallo” and “The Wine Song”—are almost too personal to enjoy. The former is a piano-driven number recounting a dream about indie-film maven Vincent Gallo, while in the latter, Mark proclaims that she “could never love a man/ who drinks white wine.” Both have their moments, but ultimately are just a little too much about nothing for my tastes.
Mark’s finest moment is “Not a Doll,” an updated take on a song that made its first appearance with the Corn Sisters. In this version, the tempo is slowed and it serves her well. It’s about as catchy a song you’ll hear all year, even if the lyrics are somewhat stereotypical: “The fork in the road/ the knife in the back/ Decisions, incisions/ I stand there/ slack-jawed and slow.”
Both “Chantal and Leroy” and “Yanksgiving” are the two most complex songs and both showcase her bulky-but-certainly-not-intrusive soprano. “Chantal” boasts a strong string arrangement as Mark sings about being a third wheel: “I was the guest/ in a sublet love nest.”
“Yanksgiving” begins as a simple acoustic number as Mark begins a journey from her Canadian home to spend a Thanksgiving in the states. Musicians like Chicago-based guitarist Jon Rauhouse are name-checked throughout, but not in a “Look who I know” way, but in a more conversational manner. The song itself is a send-up of the extremes and ridiculous heights us Americans can take things, and the results are hilarious.
“Half-time show on the football game/ Toby Keith, flag and eagle/ All-American made/ Toby did a medley of his greatest hits/ I said, ‘Oh my god/ do you believe this shit’/ Jon smiled, saying yes/ and shaking his head/ a little shamed of the blue, white, and red.”
From there, the song abruptly transforms from being an anti-“American Pie” into a straight-out rocker, as the houseguests all get ready to chow down as part of their uber-Thanksgiving. “We had olive bread and Chex mix/ and grape leaves and macaroni and cheese/ and then it was time for dinner.”
The album closes with the droning “Hangover,” a rather astute, lounge-y number that certainly captures the dreaded day-after. Song in her best nightclub impression, Mark exquisitely details a typical hangover. “Can’t answer the phone/ or get the mail/ elbows on the window sill/ dress-code housewear nowheresville.”
Yet before the tune ends with the drowsy repetition of “oh the pain, oh the pain, oh the horror and pain,” Mark chimes in with the optimism we all feel when we feel the headache somewhat easing: “after all, tomorrow is another day.”
Perhaps it is an appropriate closer, as although Pros and Cons has its warts, the album has enough bright spots that prove Mark is a singer/songwriter who’s worth getting up for in the morning, even with a splitting headache.
RODEO ROB | An expert on all things "alt," Rob spends his days covering the energy industry and his nights covering the DC-area bars. Raise yer glass especially high to this man, for he has contributed to this site constantly since its creation four years ago.