ECLECTIC: Redfearn [upper right] and the Eyesores.
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Alongside the Feelies, R.E.M., and the Replacements, Mark Mulcahy’s Miracle Legion was one of the most promising of the indie bands of the mid-’80s. Of course, that never panned out, which is why few outside the indie subbacultcha have heard or cared about Mulcahy’s work. This is sad, and perhaps as good a reason as any why Mulcahy’s new material is utterly suffused with deeply-etched melancholy.The man has released three albums since 1999, all of which have been notable for many reasons. First, he writes hooks, but does not rely on them for the success of his material. Rather, like all good soul singers, his music is pure emotion: passion plus hooks equals sublime listening. Second, while he’s been known to do his own instrument tracking, there’s little emphasis on hey-look-at-me musicianship. (J Mascis and Joey Santiago help out here, among others.) It usually provides only a lush, hushed backdrop for his philosophical poetry. Which is not to say the music disappears. Less is simply more. Mulcahy’s voice, which he often layers to harmonize with himself, is a true gift, an expressive tool that swings from Van Morrison and Leonard Cohen to Jeff Buckley Thom Yorke, and beautiful sad sacks like the Eels’ Mark Everett and American Music Club’s Mark Eitzel.
Mulcahy’s new album, In Pursuit of Your Happiness (Mezzotint), his third overall and first since the commercially viable SmileSunset a few years back, is a muted but powerful experience, guided by the voices of an artist in total command of his vision. Oddly, while he’s matured significantly over the years, his visibility has remained consistently under the radar. In the short run, this makes him a classic, tragically hip, forever underrecognized figure. But in the long run, Mulcahy is in the process of casually building one of the more impressive bodies of work since the advent of the modern rock era.
MARK MULCAHY + JACK BYSON + THE WHISKEY CHOIR + THE CARIBBEAN | June 3 | AS220, 115 Empire St, Providence | 401.831.9327
Energy savers
The 5th Annual Rhode Island Sustainable Living Festival & Clean Energy Expo goes down in Coventry on Saturday (the 3rd). In addition to music all day, there are hands-on workshops and demos on topics such as environmental and natural building, renewable energy, and earth-friendly living. There will also be scores of vendors, artists, and groups for social change; delicious foods, storytelling, alternative energy vehicle demonstrations, solar car races, nature hikes, and tours of an environmentally designed building and more. This is a great event with painfully good intentions.
Music fans will no doubt appreciate the entertainment. The day kicks off with Protium, suitably. Protium powers all its electric guitars, amplifiers, and PA entirely with fuel cell electricity. The band was formed as part of Ponaganset High School’s Fuel Cell Education Initiative and they took it a step further by doing what no other band in the world does: allow fuel cell power to generate the energy behind the music they make. Protium includes six students and a science teacher from Ponaganset High.
