The Accident That Led Me To The World

Self-titled CD

Nobody's Favorite Records

Genres: folk, Americana, folk-pop

November 2006

So many pretty little folk songs (twelve), so little time (26 minutes)... Mark Mandeville and co. really know how to spark my interest. This has a strong Decemberists vibe (right down to Mandeville's Meloy-esque vocals), though it's sparser and more abstract from a compositional sense. There is also lots of vocal assistance from angelic Raianne Richards, which lends the album another layer of excellence (especially in the boy/girl harmonies.) With the rhythm being handled mostly by the bass (who needs percussion?), this record has a delicate feel to it. Mandeville's frequent excursions into banjo territory also add an unpredictable element that doesn't take much time to warm up to. Carefully picked acoustic guitar and strings round out the experience, with a clarinet on "Watermark*" for good measure. Personal favourites include instant hit "Tell Me Something," passionate "Care (Human Nature)," and highlight "All My Ghosts" with its nine-voice climax. I prefer the less stringsy and more guitar/banjo based songs, but that's probably just because I was unwillingly dragged to the symphony so much when I was younger.

As it stands, The Accident That Led Me To The World have done well to focus this album on a particular sound, and I'm really hoping they've got more stuff planned for the future. This is one of the prettiest records I've reviewed in quite some time, and yet its emotional and compositional depth lend it a power that delves far past the purely aesthetic. Listen to this record to be entertained and moved.

MP3s (from markmandeville.com): mars, care (human nature)

87%

Fun Fact:

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 12 tracks, 26min, distributed by the label, released 2006]