Money Mark was due for a vocal album after the instrumental Change Is Coming, and he was long due for any kind of release, considering it had been five and a half years since that record. So, praise is due to Jack Johnson for green-lighting the recording of Brand New by Tomorrow on his Brushfire label after he heard some early demos. (The two share a friend and producer in Mario Caldato, Jr.) Although Johnson and Money Mark don't seem to have much in common on the surface, their laid-back approach to the music of the '70s is similar -- be it singer/songwriter pop or funk -- and their one collaboration here, Pick Up the Pieces, is a happy marriage. (Fortunately, Johnson's help is limited to the songwriting.) Elsewhere, Mark is just as spot-on with his songwriting and his gadgety one-man-band playing, although the vocals take more of the limelight than on past records. (Apparently, the drums on the early demos were a little harder before Caldato produced a mix that had, as Mark put it, "more wrist and less forearm.") He's only improved as a vocalist, often double-tracking his vocals for ghostly harmony, and keeping his instrumental prowess to just a few tricks per song. Mark described this as a post-9/11 record (Change Is Coming was released in early September 2001), and there are elements of sadness or melancholia to songs like Everyday I Die a Little, Summer Blue, and Color of Your Blues, but Mark's laid-back stride keeps the affair surprisingly buoyant. ~ John Bush, Rovi

1		Color Of Your Blues
2		Pick Up The Pieces
3		Summer Blue
4		Pretend To Sleep
5		My Loss, Your Gain
6		Everyday I Die A Little
7		Radiate Nothing
8		Black Butterfly
9		Nice To Me
10		Eyes That Ring
11		Brand New By Tomorrow
12		Sneaky People