Greg Mullen

"Mullen's vocals are strong, rich, and just as percussive as the drums and piano behind him. When guitar and horns come in, his voice still reaches out to the audience and pushes each note along. Mullen can also be wild, creative and raw - if need be." - Ryan's Smashing Life

I don't know much about Greg Mullen except that he is based in Jamaica Plain, NY, is part of the Whitehaus Family Record Art Collective, and he writes stellar songs that deserve your attention. I just discovered his debut release, The Hungry Ocean (self-release, 2010). It's chock-full of good songs and fine singing. His simple bio reads: My name is Greg. I make music with a guitar and hands and a mouth. Sometimes those hands and mouth and guitar are joined by keys, bass, trumpets and drums and friends. My first record, "The Hungry Ocean" was released at the beginning of Spring 2010. It is the culmination of twenty-four years of looking at light.

Mullen's voice is warm, and inviting, yet his vocals can be sharp, cutting through the sparse arrangements with razor-like precision. Ten Thousand Years, with it's simple guitar picking, and harmonica, could have been written in the sixties, maybe sung by someone like Jamie Brockett. It's a curious, personal song, yet accessible and well-written. The song, The Bottom of the Ocean, is pure songwriting splendor. Put this one on your Ipod today before this little gem slips away. I can't resist the lovely melody, and the simple yet inspiring trumpet lines. Certified Call it Folk.

Supporting musicians on The Hungry Ocean include Colin Dinnie - Electric and Upright Bass, John Hansard - Trumpet, Electric Guitar and Singing, Adam Ryan Kohl Mccarthy Foam -Drums, and Kate Lee - Piano, Organ and Singing. I say, any recording with good acoustic guitar playing, lots of singing and harmonies, harmonica, light percussion, and a trumpet, has the potential to be a great recording. This debut recording from Greg Mullen does not disappoint. Highly recommended. - Call It Folk

The Hungry Ocean has all the charm of a folk singer, kicking stones down a dusty road with a harmonica 'round his neck and guitar strapped to his back, traveling to play his soulful tunes about everyday things. Yet at times, Greg Mullen's voice quivers strangely supernatural and the words he sings veil some otherworldly pseudo-apocalyptic occurrence. It's something like Dante climbing the wrong way out of hell if his guides were Bob Dylan and Charles Bukowski, instead of Virgil. All of it is decorated with a whirlpool of beauteous piano, horns and lovely female harmonies.

The theme of wishing to be a ship and failing to float in a vast, all-consuming ocean is strongly present on the album. There are two bummed out Narwhals on the cover and even the 12" vinyl is cleverly pressed a transparent green. In "Ten Thousand Years" Mullen sings, "We both had a hard time trying to decide what to be for Halloween. Said, 'I'll be a ship, you be a flying machine.'" In the same song he also mentions that he's been dead for ten thousand years.

Mullen's seemingly unassuming lyrics tend to be paired with a surreal element and there's some kind of bizarre metamorphosis going on that's hard to put your finger on. In the opener "Pipes that Drain Out to the Sea," Mullen sings about laying his body on a pile of leaves, looking at his new reflection and laughing, saying "I thought it would be easy to stop being me."

The album culminates in "Telephone," with a dirty, distorted electric guitar leading the melody to an aquatic Armageddon. In the song, Mullen is on a train that's filled to capacity and he sings, "There's flowers around my neck and fire where my hands used to be and all these people around are looking down at their feet pretending not to see what they don't want to believe in a human being." When asked about the lyrics, even Mullen didn't seem quite sure. He said he only kind of realized the repeated imagery himself when the record was finished.

Loaded with poignant, ear grabbing lines, The Hungry Ocean is a stomping, spine tingling and soulful journey over and under some choppy waves. (Songs with Homes)

http://www.gregmullenmusic.com/
- Performer Magazine

“I make music with a guitar and hands and a mouth. Sometimes those hands and mouth and guitar are joined by keys, bass, trumpets and drums and friends. My first record, “The Hungry Ocean” was released at the beginning of Spring 2010. It is the culmination of twenty-four years of looking at light.”

Here is Greg Mullen's self-introduction from his website. Forgive me the easiness of this copy/paste using his own words. But after listening to this album for couple weeks, I’ve found the last sentence is just perfect. I hope, this young Massachusetts songwriter will find in this first release enough rebound (with your support) to feed some new songs. As usual when an album is so good from start to end, let’s tease you with the first track.

- You Crazy Dreamers

Greg Mullen, auteur-compositeur-chanteur-multi instrumentaliste originaire du Massachussets, débarque sur la planète folk avec son premier album, The Hungry Ocean.

Compositions et mélodies de très bonne facture, chant au diapason évoquant parfois Bright Eyes / Conor Oberst, une guitare, un harmonica, un piano, une trompette à la Calexico, un orgue, une batterie, ... On dirait que Greg Mullen a pensé à tout pour me plaire ^^

The Hungry Ocean est un petit coup de maître malheureusement destiné à sortir de manière quasi-confidentielle.

Il est en écoute ICI, chez Bandcamp.

N'hésitez pas, The Hungry Ocean est véritablement, pour mes oreilles, une des meilleures productions de folk "traditionnel" (j'entends par là le folk chanté, et j'en exclue le néo-folk "gothique", l'instrumental, ..) de ce premier trimestre 2010, avec les albums de Richard McGraw, The Tallest Man On Earth, The Goner (que je dois absolument vous présenter rapidement), Dan Reeder, Ben Sollee + Daniel Martin Moore, The Nightcrawler aka Red, Old Man Luedecke, ...

Finalement, l'année folk 2010 n'est pas si mauvaise ! - JAZZ BLUES & CO

The Whitehaus-ian Greg Mullen just finished an LP of insightful, stomping, heartbreaking, pseudo-post-apocalyptic folk called The Hungry Ocean. He's having a record release show at the hallway gallery in Jamaica Plain on March 26th with Saintseneca and The Woodrow Wilsons. You can also pick up a copy of the 12" LP in advance this weekend at Blastfest!!!(which never seems right in type without at least three exclamation points.)
- Mango Nebula