Released a year after
Mark Eitzel
was nearly claimed by a heart attack, 2012's
Don't Be a Stranger
was an impressive album that was his strongest bit of record making in years. But the album sometimes suggested
Eitzel
was pacing himself, that he wasn't working at full strength as a singer or instrumentalist, and its tentative qualities seemed built into the songs and the music. Four-and-a-half years later, 2017's
Hey Mr. Ferryman
finds
sounding more confident and physically stronger than on his previous effort.
's vocal style is a few shades more subdued than in his glory days in
American Music Club
, but there's a cool but effective passion and force at work on songs like "The Road" and "La LLorona" that strikes right through the heart. As a songwriter,
is in typically impressive form, from the harrowing story of an abusive relationship in "Nothing and Everything" and a snapshot of a widower turned broken, small-time gambler in "An Angel's Wing Brushed the Penny Slots" to an artful but bitter portrait of a holiday spent with hateful distant relatives in "In My Role as a Professional Singer and Ham." And for
,
found a splendid collaborator in former
Suede
guitarist
Bernard Butler
, who produced the album as well as handling most of the instrumental work.
Butler
's arrangements give the melodies the right degree of window dressing, and they complement the weight of the tunes beautifully. While the result is somewhat low key by
's standards,
has a sense of drama and a musical depth that puts it in a league with
's best work, both as a solo act and with
. This is smart, passionate music, as strong musically as it is lyrically, and like so much of
's work, if it isn't always hopeful, it's full of a humanity that shines out through the darkness. ~ Mark Deming