It’s a sign of the times when one of the best songwriters of the past 20 years is best known for his work on a mid-90s Nickelodeon show. Mark Mulcahy was formerly the front-man for Miracle Legion, the eternally underrated 80s jangle-pop band who became overshadowed by the obligatory (and mostly unfounded) comparisons to R.E.M. Like so many bands of the 80s underground, they were more respected in the UK than their own country.

Miracle Legion folded into Polaris and did the music for The Adventures of Pete and Pete, including the theme song “Hey Sandy” which Mulcahy claims is about a student killed by the National Guard at Kent State—fitting for what was probably the greatest and most bizarre kid’s show since You Can’t Do That on Television. The show was an excellent springboard for Mulcahy, inspiring songs like “Everywhere” that brought out the beauty of adolescence—something that was often buried by the absurd situations and storylines on the show. It feels at once nostalgic and hopeful for the future; a backdrop to those final days of being a kid.

But after the show’s cancellation, Mulcahy soldiered on with a solo career, initially signing with the short-lived record label Morgan Creek. For all the praise he got from the likes of Thom Yorke (who cites him as his greatest vocal influence) and Nick Hornby (who included one of Mulcahy’s songs in the book Songbook), Mulcahy was still screwed by the label and has released his three solo albums on the Mezzotint/Loose label.

Like his idol Harry Nilsson before him, Mulcahy is a double-threat, an amazing songwriter whose greatest instrument is his voice with a unique and unusual tone that doesn’t show any influences, although he has spawned some imitators, most notably David Gray and the aforementioned Thom Yorke (possibly the first time those two have been mentioned in the same sentence). Mulcahy’s solo compositions are three or four minute traditional pop songs, but he adopts a leisurely pace, especially when compared to much of Miracle Legions more rocking output. But with a phased-out, reverb-heavy guitar part and his voice cascading over the melody, a song like “Wake Up Whispering” gains an otherworldly, ethereal quality, not usually found in his former band’s work. “I Just Shot Myself in the Foot Again” is perhaps my favorite of Mulcahy’s songs; he uses self-deprecation to speak of misery and heartbreak as only the best of songwriters can pull off. Lines filled with irony like “I’m so misinformed that I don’t know / The many ways that I have to learn” alternate with devastating lines: “And I’d hate to ask are you over me yet / Cause I’d hate to see what I’d be without you” suggesting that if he weren’t a songwriter, he might be a neurotic Woody Allen-ish comedian.

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