 The songs: Fairground Is Gone ON SALE NOW! Michael Mazzarella's first solo album "GREY OVER AN AUTUMN WINTER" is now available for easy online ordering from CD Baby The Rooks frontman is an introspective mood. While many of his outstanding ‘60s-drenched Rooks tunes were tinged with sadness and melancholy, they were still pop songs, and had a certain amount of drive to them. On this solo effort, Mazzarella is downcast and defeated. These intimate recordings are confessionals as much as songs, as he cuts veins open and sings in hushed tones over minimal backgrounds, the hurt pouring out. His keen melodic sense is still there, but the songs are so muted, the mood dominates over the tunes. As a result, the craft takes a bit longer to appreciate, but without that craft, the disc wouldn’t be that compelling. The title song is fragile and desolate, sounding like Elliot Smith mixed with a heavenly chorus of backing vocals, while a distant piano (the dominant instrument throughout the album) plays in the background. “Winter Over Me” also features those elements, with stronger string accompaniment. The Mazzarella melodic sense is still there, it’s just muted in places -- check out “She Said”, with Mazzarella straining his voice over a great rising melody on a sad soft pop piece. The emotional centerpiece of the album is “You Like Me”, which is nearly eight minutes long and is steeped in atmosphere, with a long solo piano interlude that sounds like loneliness. This album is a much more difficult listen than any Rooks release (or that of pretty much any pop band). Perhaps the biggest hurdle to clear is that this album isn’t a hook fest -- the mood is what carries it. However, Mazzarella’s portrayal of a downward spiral is fairly successful, because it sounds very convincing. http://www.myspace.com/michaelmazzarella Mike Bennett Michael Mazzarella GREY OVER AN AUTUMN WINTER Since disbanding the marvelous Rooks, Michael Mazzarella has been taking some unconventional steps. Last time out, Mazzarella issued a DVD of studio recordings that was probably difficult for most to get a handle on, even though the song quality was at its usual high. So what then to make of Grey Over An Autumn Winter? Eschewing a band, the album very much features Mazzarella solo, with the occasional contribution from vocalist Gail George. As the title of this new album suggests, the mood that descends is certainly grey. It's one of those melancholy albums that begs to be listened to alone very late at night as one undertakes a contemplative moment. By and large, there is a strong chamber pop approach as Mazzarella engineers a specific emotional response with references to McCartney, Wilson and Bacharach guaranteeing a pleasing wistfulness. Upon first listen, the austerity of the production is a little shocking with the songs coming across like demos. However, if one gives Grey Over An Autumn Winter the time to sink in, the charm of tracks like "She Said", "The Colder It Gets The Deeper We Fall" and "Girl Gone Bye" shine through. With a daring release that places its bets on songcraft, Mazzarella has hit the jackpot. KEVIN MATTHEWS Michael Mazzarella - So Low Solo The trouble with music today is that there’s just too much of it. Too many bands, too many websites, too many MySpace pages and way too many less-than-mediocre CDs. The music industry is in flux and it looks like the power shift may have started, placing the momentum in the laps of kids with cool haircuts, big plans, user-friendly digital gear and unfortunately often lame-ass skillz. With emancipation comes a price - literally. Seems like anyone can (and everyone does) release something on an everyday basis. Remember when release schedules actually meant something and you’d wait a month for your favorite band’s music to hit the streets? I don’t take chances on unknown acts anymore. My wallet’s been burned to a crisp too many times and I’m tired of the growing collection of one-good-song aluminum discs turning into beer coasters around my apartment. FOUR STARS MICHAEL MAZZARELLA GREY OVER AN AUTUMN WINTER ANGELICA Grey Over An Autumn Winter, the first solo album from longtime Rooks regular Michael Mazzarella, could be considered something of a sleeper, not only in a figurative sense, but in a literal one as well. For starters, the Rooks are, for all intents and purposes, Mazzarella’s band; it’s been the manifestation of his musical vision and the purveyor of his songs ever since the group’s launch a dozen or so years ago. So any attempt to distinguish his individual album from a collective endeavor only serves to further blur the boundaries. However, sleeper is also an apt description of the album’s narcoleptic sound; infused with the wistful melancholia implied in the album title, Grey Over An Autumn Winter creates a kind of aural haze manifest in dewy-eyed sentiment and a dreamy lilt. Confining his accompaniment primarily to piano and softly strummed acoustic guitars, Mazzarella’s plaintive vocals and billowing harmonies add a mournful quality to these tentative open-ended melodies and tepid ruminations. There are occasional moments where Mazzarella musters more enthusiasm - the jaunty, Beatlesque "The Colder It Gets The Deeper We Fall," the gentle sway of "A Life In The Day Of A Man" and the soothing, beguiling title track in particular - but overall this is an album best suited to quiet contemplation and aimless nocturnal musings. LEE ZIMMERMAN/Amplifier Magazine Grey Over An Autumn Winter is dark, personal and haunting. Within eleven songs, Mazzarella has managed to (at least to this listener) conjure moods and sounds of confusion, mystery, acrimony, warmth, loss, beauty, isolation and finally heavy reflection. I simply cannot recall another album sounding quite like this one.” – Lester Sills Grey Over An Autumn Winter Michael Mazzarella Brand new release from Rooks frontman! Backed primarily by acoustic guitar and piano and gorgeous harmonies, this is a rather intimate look at an artist - stripped away of band trappings - as he bares his soul in a way seldom heard before - resulting in a gorgeous, haunting, intimate, Sunday morning kind of record! From John Borack’s RAVE ON column in the next issue of Ampliefier "New music from Michael Mazzarella of The Rooks is always welcome, and his solo excursion, Grey Over an Autumn Winter, is the sound of a gifted songwriter following his muse down a muted, often harrowing path. Mazzarella seems to be channeling his inner Nick Drake here – no "Reasons" or "Night Writer" to be found – and continues to evolve as an artist in the process. It’s intensely personal and obviously deeply felt music, culminating with "Dear Mariann," written about Mazzarella’s late mother. It'll be very interesting to see where he goes from here…" - John M. Borack 2007 solo release from The Rooks leader and visionary. This is not the follow-up to the stunning genius of The Rooks` A Wishing Well (that is coming, we’re assured!), but a purely solo album of utter genius, and one that demands the listener to engage in the place - the musical sketch that is being created. The rewards and the pay-offs are substantive, sublime and worth every nuanced-drenched note. What is always present in Mazzarella`s work is a poet’s keen, lyrical and observational eye for the delicacy of the human condition. Its humanity and poignancy are always evident in every carefully-placed syllable. The sparse but still spacious instrumentation enhances every corner of music. There’s some mighty fine background vocals from Gail George, who released a nice little out-of-print gem (Follow Your Bliss) back in 2004. Mazzarella steps boldly and stronger into 2007 with an effort that while not what more casual Rooks fans would expect to hear, the ones most deeply moved and challenged by Mazzarella`s vision in the past will be very happy to walk this most leaf-soaked city sidewalk with him. BRUCE BRODEEN/Not Lame Michael Mazzarella Grey Over an Autumn Winter Label: Angelica 2007 3 1/2 Stars As frontman for NYC’s the Rooks, Michael Mazzarrella is considered a minor pop deity by those well-versed in the indie power pop scene, having been responsible for one of the definitive albums of the genre with their self-titled 1994 debut. The Rooks, however, have not been what you’d call terribly prolific – they haven’t put put a proper album since 1999 – so it’s basically fallen to Mazzarella to go solo if he’s of a mind to release any new music, which is what he’s done. It more or less started with 1997’s Methods of a Mad Rook, a collection of solo demos of Rooks tracks, which was followed in 2004 by the surprising decision to release the live DVD, Only Hope for Winter, but now we’re finally privy to a proper solo debut…and, wow, it’s pretty depressing. (Not that the title doesn’t already show the album’s hand a bit.) Depressing doesn’t immediately equal bad, however. Mazzarrella’s gift for melody is still evident; it’s just placed in more sparse surroundings. “She Said” and “The Colder It Gets, the Deeper We Fall” are both rather sinister takes on piano pop, the blend of strings and harmonies on “Winter Over Me” make for a heartbreaking listen, and songs like “Here Alone,” “Dear Mariann,”and the epic “You Like Me” find Mazzarella treading very close to the territory explored by Robyn Hitchcock on I Often Dream of Trains. Listening to this record on a rainy day could have dangerous repercussions, but after several spins, one is likely to discover a minor-key masterpiece lurking in the shadows.
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