It’s not easy to mount a cri de coeur when your voice is as deep as Mark Vickery’s; you’re better off calling it a cri des intestins. But as resonant as Vickery’s baritone may be—and it occasionally drops into basso profondo range—it’s also got an edge, and it’s those serrated line readings that turn the tunes in his latest EP as Cosmic Bull into a genuinely affecting, often life-affirming statement.
“Hangin’ in the I.P.” is a collaboration with the high-profile multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer Paul Von Mertens, and it’s a tribute to Von Mertens’ sensitivity to his partner that the resultant songs come across as some of Vickery’s most deeply personal. They manage to speak directly to the insecurities and uncertainties that each of us both nurses and curses in our precarious geopolitical moment, while reflecting the often concurrent sense of disorienting isolation.
That said, they’re also hella fun. The record opens with “Unless You Know People (Von Mertens),” a rollicking saloon song in which Vickery muses on the price required to connect—both with another individual and with the great human family—and whether the price is in fact worth it. “False elegance or fake ignorance / Or those just trying to be true,” he sings. “Which one am I? Which one are you dear.” Later, there’s a moment that implies a personal sellout that manages to be both rueful and gleeful: “They’ll never sing your songs / Unless you know people … Their minds are changing now / Aren’t you glad you know people? / Ain’t we evil?”
“Unkindness of Ravens” is a straight-ahead climate lament, influenced, Vickery’s notes confirm, by Greta Thunberg’s 2019 speech at the U.N., and expressing something close to resignation to our collective inaction.
And now we’ve shed all the bees And we’ve smoked all the trees Until we’re sated And no one we know believes We’re behaving like thieves Except the hated
“Holding My Breath til the End of Time” is another jaunty take on apocalyptic themes, with Vickery as a pomo Cassandra who, despite the proliferation of venues for digital connection, can’t get anyone to listen to him (“I’ve been posting some links / To get ’em to think”), and whose preoccupation with opening eyes has overtaken even his personal ambitions.
I can’t even count the years Since I really wanted to be rich But take this away—just do what I say And we’ll get out of this ditch
There are a few respites from Vickery’s howl-with-a-backbeat into the void. “The Spectacle of Christmas (So Pretty)” feels like his bid to break into the seasonal canon—and it’s an eminently worthy one, with some joyfully witty couplets delivered like a thirties big band singer:
You’re so pretty—oh you’re so pretty Lovely in your bangles and cashmere Down of thistle, toe of the mistle Lets me know that I’m still here
Likewise, “Guest List in Heaven” is an agreeable lounge ballad that’s a valedictory look back by a formerly moneyed libertine (“If I won’t be forgiven / By those I’ve wronged / However long / I still have time—again”), that incorporates both a lovely harmonica solo by Von Mertens and an even lovelier closing sentiment:
May I be happy living this life May you be happy living your life You might have knots entangled But I won’t make a sound But I’ll hope you rise
The record concludes with a country-folk tune adorned by sighing guitars and a country choir. “The End of the End” is a hopeful sign-off, insisting that the end of the end is in fact “where it begins,” and that “What you leave them / Will be your final score / But you won’t need it anymore.”
These are grown-up sentiments from an artist who, lyrically and vocally, is in full, majestic maturity; and the splendor of his voice, combined with Von Mertens’ sheen and polish, make this an irresistible listen to those of us who are likewise trying to work our way through bouts of hopelessness and despair, while relying on injections of intelligence, radiance and wit. If that happens to be you, too, check this one out.
“Hangin’ in the I.P.” is available for streaming and download on Cosmic Bull’s Bandcamp page. Cosmic Bull plays Montrose Saloon on May 20 at 10pm,
Robert Rodi is an author, spoken-word performer and musician who has served as Newcity’s Music Editor since 2014. He’s written more than a dozen books, including the travel memoir “Seven Seasons In Siena,” and his literary and music criticism has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Salon, The Huffington Post and many other national and regional publications. Contact: robert@newcity.com
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