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Q MagazineMar 1, 2011There's nothing to diminish his status as a nearly great, albeit mostly unheralded, American songwriter. [Feb 2011, p.120]
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UncutDec 20, 2010He's a man who cleary thrives on company, his stringy voice bolstered by the presence of Jolie Holland, Neal Casel, an on "No time To live Without Her," Vashti Bunyan. [Jan 2011, p.92]
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Not as cohesive as The Salvation Blues, Many Colored Kites is still a worthy and brave album that finds Mark Olson continuing to find new ways of sharing what life has taught him through his music.
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Olson is still processing some pain, but there are plenty of bright moments.
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Whether singing solo or harmonizing with Ringvold or Jazz singer Jolie Holland, Olson is the star of the show. His voice, though imperfect and shopworn, is placed front and center where it has the ability to send chills through the listener.
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Olson's ability to center a song around the shivery hum from a cello's bow is one of those quietly expressive abilities that can so easily be overlooked. Filled with and shaped around these kind of moments, Many Colored Kite is resolutely marked with sure signs of experience and skill.
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The problem with Olson's dual interests in simplicity and freeform song structures is that the songs on Many Colored Kite come out shapeless, and practically devoid of hooks of any kind.