Andy Mullen Wing

"Lullaby For A Junkie"  Andy Mullen & The Shapeshifters CD Review Review by Jed Ryan Andy Mullen: LULLABY FOR A JUNKIE Adult Bedtime Stories      How do you feel today?  Happy?  Sad?  Indifferent?  Sometimes you just feel like ...well, "Vincent Van Gogh's Bad Ear".  That's the opening track for "Lullaby for a Junkie", the debut CD from New York singer/songwriter Andy Mullen and his band, the

Shapeshifters.  On "Lullaby for a Junkie", Andy Mullen puts the "writer" back in "songwriter", creating smart tunes bolstered mainly by the strength of his lyrics-- although his piano-driven melodies definitely play a big role in his appeal as well.  Musically, Andy Mullen is the equivalent of the ol' reliable, no-frills Irish pub standing amongst the illusion and pretense of a chi chi neighborhood in New York or L.A.  "Lullaby for a Junkie" is drinking music for the thinking man, bar songs that raise the bar.  Whatever feeling Mullen seeks to convey with "Vincent Van Gogh's Bad Ear" ("I feel like the world is on fire, I feel like it never snows, I feel like Vincent Van Gogh's bad ear, I feel like I fell 20 miles..."), the track is elegant piece, featuring some impressive piano work and no less than a triumphant climax.  It also allows Mullen to hit some impressive high notes.  As opposed to twenty-something angst, much of "Lullaby for a Junkie" seems to convey thirty-something post-angst, a sarcastically realistic view from the wisecracking guy who observes human nature from the back of the bar.  Many of Mullen's tunes on "Lullaby" are awash with symbolism and thought, clearly open for different interpretations by the audience.  Just what is Mullen trying to tell us about our own human peculiarities with the second track, "Kangaroo", where he kvetches about a gang of marsupials behaving badly? ("When you got a 'roo living next to you, And he don't understand your point of view, Just lock the door and don't let him in, He's wasting your time-- he's drinking your gin.")  But what's definitely not ambiguous is Mullen's knack for painting musical portraits of some of the more tragic aspects of life in "the big city".  For evidence, listen to the story of the drug-dealing "Grandma Green", the provocative ballad of tortured Irishman "Rory McGuiness", or Mullen's ode to alcoholism "Breakfast of Champions", the album's searing closing track.  Even "Things Are Looking Up", with its optimistic-sounding name, features a soothing but rather somber melody, resulting in a bittersweet flavor.  (For full disclosure, I must say that Mullen did reveal to me the story behind the song; but the listener not in the know will no doubt draw his or her own conclusions...)  Although Mullen experiments with a few different styles in "Lullaby", almost all the songs on the album share a common theme: they all make references to alcohol or other intoxicating substances, in varying degrees.  It's almost as if to point out that even in 2005, despite our obsessions with cellphones, web cams, and IM's, so many of us still feel alienated and isolated... and until a bigger and better panacea comes along, booze will do just fine.

     But don't expect just a whine and cheese party with "Lullaby".  Among other highlights, Mullen's freshman album features two instantly accessible, more upbeat numbers which have already proven to be live favorites: "Rat Race" and "It Figures".   With "It Figures" ("Why should I pick up the papers? Rosie's gay, you can't escape her.  The A-Rabs hate the Jews and vice-a verse; Why should I watch the news, Or leave my 'partment to peruse, How things outside aren't only bad, they're worse?!"), Mullen proves he can get an entire venue joining him for the song's chorus: "Blah, blah, blah; Bitch, bitch, bitch... You might be getting fatter, But at least you're getting rich."  It's not hard to imagine an ancestor of Andy Mullen, circa 1889, performing audience-pleasing foot-tappers in a Wild West saloon, banging away at the pie-ana while a shootout is taking place (and not missing a beat...).  "The Life I Lead" arguably showcases Mullen's idiosyncratic sense of humor to its best.  "Half Past 12" may be the season's most unorthodox love song, eschewing traditional sentiment but instead taking on the notion of love-as-libation: "She picks me up like an aeroplane, She's so goddamn ticklish, she's my cocaine. Not saying I did cocaine, but if I did, it would sure explain the metaphor that I just said".  Mullen has described the closing track, "Breakfast of Champions", as "a sad song", and indeed it is-- but there's also something very likeable about the track, in the same way that made Billy Joel's 1973 ode to loneliness, "Piano Man", a bar room sing along.

     Intentionally or not, we never really learn about Andy Mullen, the artist himself, through "Lullaby for a Junkie"... at least not in the overt, defiantly personal way that often characterizes the first album of so many independent singer/songwriters.  Of course, Mullen creates such vivid characters through his music (like Grandma Green, Rory McGuiness, and even the gang of smoking, drinking, trash-talking 'roos in "Kangaroo") that the listener-- at least THIS listener--  may wonder how much of the story-songs are based on real people from Mullen's life, or even Mullen himself.  Maybe we'll find out more in Mullen's sophomore CD.

     Blah, blah, blah... bitch, bitch, bitch.  But one thing's for certain: Since every New Yorker has a tale to tell, and there are 8 million people living in New York, Andy Mullen has a lot more music to write.  And that's something to drink to!  Check out www.AndyMullenMusic.com  for more.

Jed Ryan
PM Entertainment Magazine
StoneWall Society "Reviewer of the Year" 2005

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