Mark Searcy – Denouement
Moose Milk Music – 2023
8 tracks; 36 minutes
Born in Arkansas but a long-time Texas resident, Mark Searcy Middleton started playing guitar in his teens but stopped altogether for fifteen years while raising his family. He started playing again as therapy after an accident at work severely damaged his fingers and, since then, he has been prolific, releasing eighteen albums and four guitar tab books, ranging across many styles, including blues, country, rock and jazz. His latest release, Denouement has some blues elements but also veers into full-blown rock. The version submitted for review contains no information on personnel but keyboards, drums and bass are present on most tracks.
The album is predominantly original with just two covers: The Black Keys’ “I Got Mine” is given a grungy treatment with distortion on both guitars and vocals; BB King’s “Rock Me Baby” is the closest to straight blues here, played in a lightly funky style with fluid guitar over a bubbling rhythm section and incorporating snatches of Muddy’s “Champagne & Reefer” for good measure to deliver an enjoyable cut.
Mark’s website describes the album as blues-rock and his originals mostly fit that description, starting with “Give Me Time”, his lead work set over rhythm guitar while “Getaway With Me” has some screaming wah-wah leads over busy drums. “Sitting On The Edge Of Time” is a little slower-paced as Mark sings of Man’s obsession with material things, failing to see the real dangers; electric piano is in the mix and the organ mid-tune adds a touch of the 60’s. “In A Van Down By The River” has Ange Kogutz’s powerful backing vocals behind a mainly spoken vocal and is apparently based on a Saturday Night Live sketch. The lengthy “Warriors Of Passion And Crime” spends the first of its seven minutes on heavily distorted guitar before Mark starts reciting rather than singing the strange lyrics: “We watch the hands spin, yet trapped by the time; some aim for glory while others see mastery”. Lots of wah-wah guitar here, for aficionados of that style. The title track again has semi-spoken lyrics, the piano, acoustic guitar and more restrained electric guitar providing a more comfortable listening experience until the closing section in which Mark hits the wah-wah pedal hard.
Mark Searcy has produced a lot of music in recent years, this being his sixth album in less than three years. Existing fans will no doubt want to get this album but it is not easy to recommend it to those who prefer their blues free of rock trappings.
