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Warning: The magic method Gallery_Img::__wakeup() must have public visibility in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php on line 97 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 {"id":1591,"date":"2017-08-26T15:20:38","date_gmt":"2017-08-26T15:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markolsonmusic.com\/?p=1591"},"modified":"2017-08-29T21:05:04","modified_gmt":"2017-08-29T21:05:04","slug":"coachella-valley-weekly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markolsonmusic.com\/coachella-valley-weekly\/","title":{"rendered":"Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

The record opens with the sunshiny charmer, \u201cDear Elisabeth.\u201d Breezy bass lines connect with twinkly percussion jingle-jangle guitar and sylvan strings. Sweet-sour harmonies and the sweeping melody cushion lyrics that decry the gossipy nature of small towns. Mark cautions there\u2019s \u201cno one to write your soul\u201d and not to dwell on the past, \u201cdon\u2019t look back and pull the weeds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Childhood memories are at the forefront on the title track And \u201cSeminole Valley Tea Sippers Society.\u201d \u201cSpokeswoman\u2026\u201d blends dreamy strings, prickly qanon fills, rumbling bass and tambourine shake percussion. Stream-of-conscious lyrics reference a vivid dream Mark had about his Irish Grandma speaking Gaelic. Her spectral presence prompts him to confide \u201cI like going where you\u2019re going, doing all the things you like to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeminole\u2026\u201d is powered by kaleidoscopic mellotron, plucked strings, a propulsive rhythm and sidewinding acoustic and electric guitar. Lyrics like \u201cTall buildings in Iowa were made of stone, schools were made of stone, churches lovely sandstone,\u201d draft off sharp recollections of Mark\u2019s mother\u2019s hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.<\/p>\n

Musically, three tracks time-travel back to the Psychedelic \u201860s: \u201cTime Of Love\u201d blends jangly guitar, swelling strings, mellotron notes that shapeshift from lush to trippy, a galloping back beat and roiling bass lines. The lyrics insist that without love as an emotional anchor, it\u2019s easy to lose \u201cyour peace of mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thundering drums and nettlesome strings open \u201cYou Are All.\u201d The intricate arrangement and candy-coated instrumentation echo Brill Building songcraft and Wrecking Crew musical prowess. But much like Joni Mitchell\u2019s \u201cBoth Sides Now,\u201d the presence of \u201ccandy sand castles\u201d and \u201ca lollipop sky,\u201d can\u2019t camouflage the song\u2019s melancholy undercurrent.<\/p>\n

\u201cNicola\u201d offers an oblique recollection of the Topanga Bluegrass fest Mark attended as a teen. Something of an aural snapshot, it captures that gray area between innocence and experience. Click-clack rhythms anchor swirling strings, chamberlain, dulcimer, plus Mark and Ingunn\u2019s intertwined harmonies.<\/p>\n

A stand out song here is \u201cMary Frances Strong.\u201d It\u2019s a tender encomium to Mary Frances Strong, the author of the invaluable \u201cDesert Gem Trails\u201d book. Wistful and beatific, it opens with rattling bongos and folds into a pulsating rhythm accented by twinkling percussion and pastoral mellotron and chamberlain.<\/p>\n

Both \u201cGravity Loss\u201d and \u201cAll My Days\u201d gain emotional nourishment from the desolate surroundings of Joshua Tree, and the satisfaction of manual labor. On the former, Mark and Ingunn\u2019s plaintive harmonies lattice over layers of plangent guitar, rubbery bass and cascading percussion. The desert is \u201cWhere my life starts again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The latter is a handclap-y cha-cha-cha propelled by off-kilter percussion and ringing guitar. Passing by \u201cthe house we knew, painted once in June,\u201d Mark is reminded of the sense of accomplishment that accompanies spilled paint, sweat-equity and the laughter involved in repainting a house.<\/p>\n

The album closes with \u201cDeath Valley Soda Pop Cool Down Dream.\u201d The lyrics circle back to the same theme explored in the opening track: gossip and hearsay are toxic habits and abhorrent professions. Qanon notes dart and pivot through the suite-like melody, like a fluttery hummingbird, enveloping languid mellotron and chamberlain runs and rippling guitar; an ambitious finish to a wonderful record.<\/p>\n

spokeswoman of the bright sun was handcrafted in Joshua Tree. Mark created the songs on their back porch, he and Ingunn recorded their parts on a Nagra field recorder. He played acoustic and electric guitars plus the dulcimer, she handled mellotron, chamberlain and qanon, (the traditional zither-style instrument, prominent in Greek, Turkish and Armenian music). Superstar drummer Danny Frankel added all the percussive touches and Lewis Miller provided bass.<\/p>\n

Of course, special attention should be paid to Mark and Ingunn\u2019s symbiotic vocal blend, which echoes \u201860s antecedents like Grace Slick and Marty Balin from Jefferson Airplane and Mama Cass and Denny Doherty from the Mamas And The Papas.<\/p>\n

Mark Olson has been making music professionally for more than 30 years, either as part of a band or a solo artist. Each album feels like a mile-marker charting the course of a richly nuanced musical journey. The inherent beauty of spokeswoman of the bright sun is it honors the past but continues to look forward.<\/p>\n

-Eleni Austin<\/p>\n

Link to article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"