Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You

His first album since 2005's In Pursuit of Your Happiness, Mark Mulcahy returns from an eight-year absence with Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You. Where the singer/songwriters earlier work was possessed of a certain shimmering quality, the songs here feel more grounded in their production, with Mulcahy mostly strumming out his tunes on an acoustic guitar instead of a jangly electric. While the sonic palette may have shifted, the mood feels appropriately wistful and melancholy, a feeling that fans of Mulcahy's daydreamy style will find comforting and familiar. ~ Gregory Heaney