Mark Eitzel, the man with probably most biting, sometimes even cynical, but always with a human line seeping through is back. The former lynchpin of a cult American Music Club, suffered a heart attack in 2012, but he hung on.
Five years on, his new album, “Hey Mr. Ferryman” is in some ways a reflection on his brush with death. The opener, “The Last Ten Years”, in Eitzel’s trademark lyrical style, leaves not much doubt:
The ferryman
Who takes me to my rest
Don’t give a damn
Who’s cursed or blessed
Anyway I give him all my cash
Like some tragic hero
A lightning flashFollowed by a million zeros
Who takes me to my rest
Don’t give a damnWho’s cursed or blessed
Anyway I give him all my cash
Like some tragic heroA
lightning flash
Followed by a million zeros
Spent the last ten years
Trying to waste half an hour
Throughout his career, both solo and with American Music Club, Eitzel’s plaintiff voice and lyrical style, no matter how sad, downtrodden or broken down, with all the expressed despair, always had an “I’ll keep on going, no matter what” line going through all of it. Always with the tongue well in cheek:
An angel’s wing brushed the penny slots
And tried to wake my weak heart up
And when I fell she read all my thoughts
Did not run
She helped me up
And the El Cortez still welcomes me
Guess if you die on their floor the drinks are all free
And I will roll high, just wait and see
Now lady luck has punched my clock
Drip by drip, drop by drop
(“An Angel’s Wing Brushed The Penny Slots”)
That I’m not giving up line is omnipresent throughout this excellent album produced (and most instruments played by) the Suede guitarist Bernard Butler. Butler’s arrangements are subdued and precise, recalling the best moments of both American Music Club and Eitzel’s solo output, accentuating both Eitzel’s voice and lyrics.
It is a great thing to have Eitzel still around to remind us of all our downfalls and shortcomings, as long as we take it with a pinch of salt, otherwise, to say it in Eitzel’s style, you’ll have to stay away from open windows when listening to some moments from this album.
