Peter Mulvey
Kitchen Radio

(Signature Sounds)

First Appeared at The Music Box, April 2004, Volume 11, #4

Written by John Metzger

As a budding folk singer, Peter Mulvey has built his following around his proficiencies as both a guitarist and a poet. To put it another way, though he sometimes has labored to find the perfect melody for his words, his songs are always interesting. Multi-instrumentalist and writing partner David Goodrich has attempted to help him to get past this obstacle, but the pairing hasn’t been entirely successful, though the duo has made strides in the proper direction.

Mulvey’s latest effort Kitchen Radio continues down a similar path, and after four years and a diversion through a collection of cover songs titled Ten Thousand Mornings, his growth is evident. Yes, he still awkwardly fumbles to produce music that is as impassioned as his lyrics, but on songs like Road to Mallow, Falling, and Rise, he and Goodrich manage to settle into a few quiet spaces that recall those on Mark Knopfler’s Sailing to Philadelphia. Even better, the fire injected into the rant about the state of Western civilization on 29¢ Head proves that Mulvey is at his best when he’s intensely interested in getting his point across.

Kitchen Radio is available from
Barnes & Noble. To order, Click Here!

Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2004 The Music Box