Murder of Crows Press Release
Mark Cutler’s latest release, Murder of Crows, is a high-flying example of his distinctive, genre-mixing, yet highly personal, incisive and sharp songwriting abilities. Cutler, especially in recent years, has purposefully woven the track between explosive rock and roller and down-to-earth troubadour, singing tales of frustration, blue collar woes, romantic disentanglements, betrayal and retribution, soul searching, and often, temporary salvation, whether spiritual or psychological. His roots—ever exposed—range from Hank Williams, Arthur Alexander, Doc Pomus to Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Lou Reed, Neil Young and Jonathan Richman.
The release is produced by Cutler himself (founding member of RI’s Schemers and Boston’s Raindogs) and recorded at his own RevMok studios, and it features a track with lyrics written by fellow RI native, Bill Flanagan, (first class rock critic, author, broadcast eminence, and venerated Pop Culture maven), the sweet and sour “Remembering Wrong,”
Murder of Crows features a plethora of Cutler’s story-songs, filled with melancholy and weariness, songs unflowery yet resonant, piquant slices of life, among them, the long-time live fave, and dissonantly sweet “ I know What It’s Like”, the furtive but realistic “Keep An Eye Out”, the searching and redemptive “Man on the Moon”, the ultimate-Cutler treatise “Floating Man”, a savvy, and mid-tempo tale of a ghost parent, possible redemption, all delivered by a crackerjack band of on-the-money RI rock and roll veterans and survivors, all whom played with Cutler, and in reformed versions of The Schemers (amidst their other gigs), for a remarkable amount of time (James Berger and Richard Reed for over 40 years, Couto for a solid 10 years).
Murder of Crows is the 8th solo release (“Gasboy”, “Skylolo”, Red’, “Sweet Pain”, “Dreamland”, Travel Light” and “Side Effects”) by Mark Cutler, one of the unarguably finest songwriters (and performers) to ever emanate from the rich RI rock scene, thus the overall New England scene, cuz he unequivocally remains one of the region’s smartest, adventurous, continual, and solid songwriters of the last few decades.
It’s solid, deep-in-the-bone, worthy of multiple listens, and equally deserving of exploring the extremely Cutleresque, ‘torn and frayed” combo of soundscapes and provocative lyrics. This recording captures one of the sentiments put forth in the lengthy (and informative) profile of Cutler (and his bands) on the RI Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website:
“Pure story-songs all, sweet and melancholy, Cutler’s voice and words conveying weary experience and the almost sour fragrance of acceptance.” And, with Murder of Crows, you can initially delve into the succulent layers of subtle musicianship and extremely evocative lyrics, and, yeah, here and there, you can dance to it.
Murder of Crows will be released to all streaming services on June 9, 2025.
Scott Duhamel
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