American Music Club singer/songwriter Mark Eitzel's latest solo effort is a gentle album full of peaceful melodies, lyrics with an obscure beauty, and Eitzel's warm and softly whispering vocals. Gentle and peaceful though it might be, Candy Ass isn't milquetoast.
This time around, Eitzel lays rapid thumping beats under those soft melodies. Eitzel's lyrics are always as troubled as they are poetic; like the lines "What's going to turn me into an honest man/What's going to scare the ghost out of my soul" from "Roll Away My Stone." With Eitzel, it's not always clear on the surface what's happening in the stories woven into the songs; "My Pet Rat St. Michael" begins as an owner's concern over his pet, but gradually the listener becomes aware the owner is projecting his own hopelessness onto the rodent; he is "the tired swimmer who can no longer see the shore." The title of "A Loving Tribute to My City" proves to be ironic; the little girl's vocals are blurred and barely discernible but she speaks of finding an abandoned body, and when she mentions "giant beautiful golden gates," the effect is ominous rather than hopeful. Another line from "Roll Away My Stone" sums up the overall impression of things hidden in the depths: "Your love is a bell that rings underneath the ocean."
Candy Ass's gentle melancholy makes for an enjoyable experience and looking beneath the surface of the peaceful melodies is darkly rewarding.
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