West coast singer songwriter Mark Lane has grown since his debut Golden State of Mind. The disciple of Jason Faulkner (Jellyfish) and Rusty Andserson (Paul McCartney’s band) knew his way around a great melody early on, rooted in classic hooks on the debut – now he adds more muscle to his compositions on Something New.
Explaining the title track, Mark says he’s “looking at all stuff you have in your life, the things you might take for granted or think are mundane, and fabricating something new from them.” The grand opening “For Whom It Concerns” slowly builds into a dreamy rock lullaby. “Back In The Swing” is a sweet Lennonesque piano tune that fans of Paul Bertolino or Ryan Lerman will hum along to. Each song is carefully crafted, the ornate “Her” is a dramatic action theme, and “The King Of Silence” is a ghostly pop gem with a killer guitar solo at the break. The album goes at a deliberate measured pace, so soak up each melody line. This is another 2012 album that deserves to be shoe-horned into my top 10 list somewhere.
My kind of PowerPop. If Mark could layer on some more self harmonies ala Owsley or Lewis Taylor it would be perfect.