Michael Mazzarella is a legend among power pop fans for his work with the Rooks. His solo career has concentrated on improving his songwriting abilities and his latest offering “Folk Songs…” is similar to the last album “Grey Over An Autumn Winter,” which presents a song cycle in somber tones. It was recorded on a simple eight-track with help from Richard X. Heyman on the harmony parts. Vocals as sharp as ever, Mazzarella is sounding more like a mix of Colin Bluntone and Chris Bell on the opener “Recollections of a Young Girl Gone.” Thankfully, the clouds part for the excellent mid-tempo “October on Bleecker” with it’s sweet strum and multi-tracked melody that mixes the Beatles and Big Star influences sure to please Rooks fans. Then the clouds return on bleak “The Ballad of Who Are We” which is a song about a bygone relationship fallen through the cracks of life. The next track “Open Letter Of Sorry” has a John Lennon quality with heavy echo in the piano and nasal delivery. Another standout is “Shine A Little” which has an spiritual quality with a strong Elton John styled piano melody. The songs themselves feel like a confessional and the melodies sparkle through the lo-fi approach on “For LaDonna The Blue” and “In An Ocean.” It ends with a gospel statement in “Hallelujah For The Hallelujah Of Us” and if it had a least one additional mid-tempo or upbeat song in the mix it would be better received. It’s a downer of an album, with the ending lyrics “Have all the friends I have known/Better to feel so alone?” Fans of John Lennon, and Big Star will appreciate this and of course if the mood suits you.
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Note: For some reason the review of “Black Bunny” was deleted by accident, so I reposted it.