Carolyn Mark & the New Best Friends - The Pros and Cons of Collaboration (Mint, 2004)

Carolyn Mark & the New Best Friends
The Pros and Cons of Collaboration
Mint
2004

Rating: 7 corn husks out of 10

Most folks probably know Carolyn Mark as Neko Case’s other half in the Corn Sisters (as well as having worked with Neko on her solo stuff). “The Pros and Cons of Collaboration” finds Carolyn stepping off on her on, and doing it well. Musically, this solo effort would fit in nicely in any collection already containing Corn Sisters or Neko Case CDs, as it tows that same familiar line of being modern country music, heavily influenced by the classics; lyrically though, Carolyn has a much better grasp of the language, and her songs have an acerbic wit that is missing from much of the material produced by her contemporaries. Shit, I rarely even notice the lyrics for most bands, but these were so interesting that my ears perked right up. Even though Carolyn may not have the push behind her that a solo Neko has, she’s every bit as talented and entertaining, and hopefully folks will catch onto her music as well.