There’s a huge magical slow groove to opener ‘Hey Mama’ the duet with Oni Logan (of Lynch Mob fame): it’s a song cut from ancient bluesy cloth but with a vibrancy and refrain that is ‘rock’ enough to propel it into modern day deep fried contemporary blues territory. It’s immediately as relevant and as ‘cutting edge’ as anything artists like The Temperance Movement, Rival Sons or The Black Keys are calling their own.
‘Hard to Say’ starts off like mid period Black Crowes before Mark’s Tom- Petty-like vocal brings the song to life with a painted lyric and story-teller swagger augmented by some laconic guitar and laid back bluesy feel.
‘Open Your Eyes’ has a real Petty vibe too, in fact in a blind tasting a few people I played the song too thought it might have been a Petty song, it’s not a pastiche though, it’s simply a song that inhabits the same landscape as the sadly missed Floridian who who sang so memorably of Los Angeles. It also acts as a nice unwitting tribute to a man I know Mark enjoyed listening to.
Three songs in after you’ve let it all wash over you, the most striking aspect of this new record is certainly the sound. It’s a modern treatment that we haven’t really heard before and that kind of production gives these songs a certain sheen and chance to shine without being too glossy or intrusive. I used to love the retro sound that Mark treated his recordings to, but this new outlook brings a crispness and a freshness that at times even ventures towards Pop. There’s still the same variety of course but this time you feel that Mr. Knight has slipped on a new pair of treads and he rather likes the feel of them.
Just when you’re expecting something gentler to kick in, title track ‘Don’t Kill the Cat’ acts like it’s reading your mind. It’s a gentle acoustic ramble with high notes of Americana and countrified blues that sighs as it rises and falls with it’s mournful narrative. Up next ‘1955’ couldn’t be more different and its that juxtaposition that strikes a effect balance on this album. It’s a song that’s light and breezy, shuffling and surefootedly real. It’s one of the songs here I keep coming back to with it’s mellow echoes of early Soul Asylum.
‘Free’ marks the half-way point with a funky reggae shuffle that shouts the joys of the simple pleasures in life, before ‘Lucy’s Blues’ with it’s wonderful keys, is the tale of a father with a daughter who’s all grown up and ready to make her own life. ‘Test of Times’ that follows is one of the songs here that most echos Mark’s recent work but it gains weight from it’s beautiful construction and almost sea-shanty-like refrain. It’s ‘Roadside Pain’ though with its gentle sweep and melody and subdued nature, which pretty much sums up for me all I love about Mark’s music. I know I say this every new release but Mark Knight is right up there alongside the best in this type of music and whilst he might not get the attention of players like Jason Isbell, Justin Townes Earle, Ryan Adams or even Hayes Carll he has just as much to say.
“Malabama’ has to be one of my favorites here as Mark cast’s his eye back wistfully on the now gone Malibu music scene. It’s a great tale that I’m sure will have anyone who even dipped their toes in those waters reminiscing. It’s a great song, uplifting and full of name-checks and a sublime Allmans-like solo.
The album rounds out with two great tracks: ‘Last Goodnight’ is an energetic pop-infused tale you can dance to and ‘Undone’ the final word here an acoustic led tale of woe. They could well be two of the very best here and leave the album to close with a song that really digs at the roots of where this beautiful music all comes from.
At the end of the record you realise that in these 12 tracks you’ve been treated to some real quality, there’s not a composition here that can’t stand on it’s own, and whilst Mark’s records in the past have been consistent, sure there’s that same consistency here, but this time he’s raised the bar. This is Mark Knight’s finest recorded collection of songs to date and it deserves more than just your attention, it deserves to be broadcast from the rooftops of Malibu.
