Back in February, veteran Cincinnati musician Mark Brasington released his latest solo work, X, a meditative, ethereal collection that showcases a different, piano-based and uniquely emotive side of his highly melodic songcraft. You can purchase/stream the album now at markbrasington.bandcamp.com.
In March, Brasington — who has worked in local bands like Clabbergirl and Odd Man Out and crafted five solo albums over the past decade and a half — released the playfully minimalistic video for the album track, "The Next Song." Actually, it's one of "The Next Songs" on X — the 10-track collection kicks off with "The First Song" and ends with "The Last Song," with all cuts in between titled "The Next Song." That matter-of-factness is part of the album's emotional/sonic aesthetic, which seems to float between muted melancholy and a kind of resigned serenity. Like the title, cover art and track listing, the stark video treatment for the album's seventh "Next Song" (aka "Stick Figures") fits well with the project's motif.
Brasington hosts an album release party for X this Thursday at The Listing Loon (4124 Hamilton Ave., Northside, listingloon.com). At the free 8 p.m. show, which also features a performance by singer/songwriter Scott Cunningham’s Wake the Bear, Brasington will perform with Jude Hayden, as well as fellow former Clabbergirl members Dave Purcell and Sean Rhiney, who currently play in the Cincinnati band Pike 27.
