CD Review: Money Mark - Brand New By Tomorrow

Money Mark -- cohort on keys and unofficial 4th member of the Beastie Boys -- walks a sunny and winding road on his latest solo effort, Brand New By Tomorrow, out today on Brushfire Records. Mark’s brand of Atari-Americana incorporates the sort of warm, mellow, tra-la-la, quirk you’d find on Wilco’s Summerteeth or Josh Rouse’s 1972 but dots it with arcade flourishes -- sometimes funky, sometimes punky -- over lo-fi, Beatles-esque melodies. The result is a stylish sound, retro and warm, laid out with drifting ease and disjointed familiarity that will have you singing along to songs you’ve never heard before.

One gets the sense that nobody ever explained to Money Mark Ramos-Nishita the conventions of cohesion when making an album, and that’s just fine by me. Purists who subscribe to a conservative notion of unity may have something to say about the free-form feel of the record, but the non-traditional, non-linear, Peeps-eating, wanderlust contingent will be pleased as punch by the unexpected “favorite mixtape” vibe of the record.

Standout track, “Color Of Your Blues,” wraps loose like the snuggliest blanket, the first single, “Pick Up The Pieces,” grooves with Sly, organ action, “Pretend To Sleep” strikes a Cat Power chord and remarkably, “Radiate Nothing” hints at Elvis Costello and maybe even Joe Jackson.

TONIGHT
Tues, Feb 27
Money Mark @ Amoeba
Free in-store performance
7pm