August 8, 2008
Nashville, TN
Mark Erelli to Release Seventh Signature Sounds Record, Delivered
Album Marks Return to Recording and Touring After "Soul 2 Soul" Participation and New Baby
Nashville, Tenn. - Singer-songwriter Mark Erelli releases his seventh Signature Sounds release, Delivered, on September 16, 2008 and begins a summer tour with appearances at the nation's most prestigious live acoustic venues. Recently compared to John Hiatt and Ron Sexmith by The Washington Post, Erelli expresses the maturity that goes along with adulthood and fatherhood on Delivered. The result is an album that gracefully manages rebellion and responsibility, and reconciles the two opposing poles in Erelli's own life.
Since 2006's critically acclaimed Hope & Other Casualties, Erelli has achieved much in his personal and professional life - welcoming a son and touring in support of Lori McKenna as part of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's "Soul 2 Soul" tour. The maturity that comes with becoming a new father and the focus achieved from a self-imposed recording hiatus are evident on the eleven tracks of Delivered. With a distinct nod to family, the release ranges emotionally from tales of simple pleasure and exaltation to heartbreaking stories of patriarchal and nationalistic responsibilities. In the modern world, Erelli has a firm grasp on what is truly important in his life but refuses to remain circumspect in his art or expression.
In "Volunteers" and "Hope Dies Last," Erelli delicately paints portraits of the strife in today's world, both at home and abroad. Although the subjects are painful, the overall tone on Delivered is that of hopeful realism and a providential faith. "But of all that comes to pass/Hope dies last." "Volunteers," the album's standout track, is a devastatingly honest account of a soldier fighting in Iraq. Stripped down, naked, the track describes the "wounds that you can't see" and demonstrates new respect for life in a war-torn country. The song touches on the paradox of being a hero at home and enemy to Iraqis, while focusing on staying alive and shouldering the burden of war. "And if you find I've fallen after all the smoke has cleared/Let the record show, I volunteered."
Every track on the record illustrates with beautiful simplicity the well-crafted "intimate masterpieces" (The Boston Globe) listeners have come to expect from Mark Erelli. Delivered features polished production, raw sentiments and a gritty and heartfelt lyrical quality. Erelli presents a masculine and frank account of realizing maturity in his world of yellow ribbons on the door and baby blankets in the crib at home. The record's edges are softened throughout by the appearance of Crooked Still and Sometymes Why's Aoife O'Donovan on backing vocals. The instrumentation ranges from simple, sparse acoustic guitar on "Not Alone" and "Volunteers" to the elaborate orchestration of "Man of The Family," where Erelli brings in horns and electric guitar. Delivered accurately combines Bob Dylan's socially conscious folk and Ryan Adams' rock sound, presented with a musical tapestry of songwriting influences.
Striding defiantly outside of an industry laden with contrived and formulaic music, Mark Erelli has created an album of songs with an unparalleled resonance. Both commercially viable and a testament to the power of music to express and chronicle the times, Delivered is a record that reiterates Mark Erelli's narrative talents and solidifies his reputation as one of his generation's most relevant lyricists.
