Americana Roundup by Michael Hingston
Article LinkMark Brown is originally fom North Carolina but lives in New York State. He cites Johnny Cash and Tom Waits among his early influences, but he draws on a far wider palette on his third album Happy Hour, which is his first for a few years. There are lots of ideas over 14 tracks of economic duration that were recorded largely with long-term collaborators. The songs move through genres and moods and switch rapidly between quirky ideas, comedic lyrics and darker moments. Brown packs a lot into a varied and entertaining 38 minutes