Invisible Man
As former singer ofAmerican Music Club, Mark Eitzel wrote some of the biggest critical hits of the late 20th century. Yet adulatory reviews don't necessarily lead to sales, so this soulful, inspirational artist remains a cult figure.The Invisible Manis his first new recording in some three years. It's said the delay is due to the death by overdose of his muse and closest friend, Kathleen Burns. Yet this is no fraught collection of primal screams and gothic thunder. Instead we have a wildly varied selection of mood pieces. "Christian Science Reading Room" has a quiet acoustic guitar occasionally attacked by military drum rolls, then engulfed by a strange keyboard recalling the Residents'Not Available. "Sleep" is a beautifully judged electronic lullaby (Eitzel actually spent the last two years producing the album on a Mac in his living room, and his diligence shows through), while the warm and countrified "Proclaim Your Joy"--reminiscent of a speeded-up take onEileen Rose's "Would You Marry Me?"--has Eitzel sounding genuinely (and surprisingly) uplifted. Like Eitzel's other work, this album's often wordy and morose--imagineLeonard Cohenbadly beaten and left to think and die in solitary confinement. But on display here is a truly human spirit that music lovers will appreciate. Everyone should have one Eitzel album. This one will do.--Dominic Wills