Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You

It's gritty urban dramas never become too heavy-hearted, the breezy tunes blowing through like prime Jonathan Richman. [Jul 2013, p.84]

Mostly, Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You sounds supremely happy to be here: it's an infectious feeling. [Jul 2013, p.82]

Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You plays like a love note to fans, blending Mulcahy’s singular solo sound with that sugarcoated Polaris vibe in 35 minutes of irresistible pop bursts.

There won't be a mass audience, of course, and those who adore Mulcahy will once again wonder why.

From start to finish, Dear Mark J. Mulcahy is a treat. In fact, it may be his best yet.

It's hard to listen, and that makes Dear Mark the kind of pointedly painful pop that forces me [to] rush out, buy 11 albums that came before it and never get around to opening the packages. [No. 100, p.56]

Dear Mark J. Mulcahy fights against darkness with bright, wryly warbled folk-pop that can recall the Velvet Underground or Loudon Wainwright III or the post-REM college-rock Mulcahy made in Eighties band Miracle Legion.

All of this makes for a satisfying comeback for a cult artist who has several cults anxiously waiting his return. Those fans will no doubt love Dear Mark J Mulcahy, I Love You. Newcomers used to straight-line songs might want to try it out as well, because they might be surprised at how refreshing it is when a songwriter reaches his destination zig-zagging all the way.

Whilst as a whole Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You does perhaps miss having a few more mellow Mulcahy moments to give it a stronger balance of moods, its rapidly flowing melodicism is impressively infectious nevertheless.

All in all, Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You more than conveys why Mulcahy is so beloved by his colleagues. By the same token, it’s confounding as to why, with songs of such strength, he is not a far more known artist in his own right.

The sense of rhythmic looseness and American country lilt, showcased most obviously on My Rose Coloured Friend, coupled with Mulcahy’s lyrical sensibilities and questioning of his own troubles and existence, make for not a particularly life-changing but pleasing listening experience.