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SHAWN MULLINS
Honeydew
(Vanguard)

(NODEPRESSION.NET) -- Shawn Mullins' 1998 breakthrough Soul's Core amplified his folky soft-rock with full-band backings that wrapped his detailed lyrics in more broadly palatable pop productions. 2000's Beneath The Velvet Sun rounded some of Mullins' edges; its commercial disappointment resulted in a move from Sony to Vanguard. His new label found that idiosyncrasies weren't a marketing barrier, and last year's 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor was winningly divided between acoustic country-folk and bluesy rock, showcasing an artist finding his way rather than a label foraging for hits.

Honeydew retains that integrity, opening with a reworking of Mullins' prospective theme for TV's "Scrubs", recast from its light 2002 original into a deep soul search. The introspection continues with the memo from therapy "Song To The Self (Chapter 2)" and a personal reckoning of the country's direction on "For America". The latter's pining for lost people and faded times is also heard in the elegiac "Home" and the nostalgic "See That Train".

Though Honeydew isn't a concept album, several songs twine in thematic opposition. "Homeless Joe" celebrates a musician who has lived his dream, while "Fraction Of A Man" catalogues the mid-life crises of those who haven't. "Leaving All Your Troubles Behind" follows a young girl's escape from a meth-riddled mountain town, just as "Cabbagetown" finds a city slum dweller returning to his rural roots.

The light rasp at the edges of Mullins' voice fits both the folk tunes and the rockers. He's unerring in arrangements that include Wallflowers-styled Americana, singer-songwriter acoustic, laid-back and electric blues, and pop-rock. His production remains mainstream-friendly but without blurring his characters' definition. His earlier commercial success is now matched by his artistic achievement.

-- ELI MESSINGER
Copyright c. 2008 No Depression Inc. and/or Eli Messinger.