Evil Valentine by Mark Schwaber
To Mark Schwaber, the art of distilling beauty from desolation is a familiar one. The sonic expression of his sincere relationship with darkness binds together the many albums that he has recorded over the last several years. His most recent work, Everything Around Me, continues this journey. Written in the months leading up to and after his mother’s passing, the album captures a devastating epoch in Schwaber’s life.
“I ended up recording everything revolving around the death of my mom. While things aren’t directly relevant at all times with all the songs, I thought that lyrically they lent themselves to the subject matter. The process was at home, it was all alone, it was completely singular, really private…it was dealing with grief.”
The entirety of the record was engineered, performed, and produced by Schwaber in his own home, and indeed what results is a work that feels not unlike a bedroom. Intimate moments pulled from Schwaber’s past surface throughout the album: memories that gained potency during this tragic period in his life. Synths and programmed drums color the songs, a nostalgic nod to an 80’s childhood. Dear friends offer their presences in the form of field recordings, phone messages, a knock on the door, etc. Instrumental interludes allow Schwaber’s lyrics to rest, and invite the listener to experience what cannot be put into words. The result is a lush portrait of grief - a dark and private world brought to light.
The record is filled with many questions and very few answers, a fact that is encapsulated in the track “Evil Valentine.” “I had the idea to make a map—to do some topography around depression—how I live in it and how it exists for me, rather than to be so bold as to say ‘I’m going to tell you what depression feels like for everybody.’” And so Evil Valentine unfolds with a question that feels almost innocent in its heartbreak: “Is there something missing that I just don’t see?”
Penned as a conversation with his anxiety, Schwaber seeks to bridge an internal gap between two parts of himself. This somber dialogue is at once softened and accentuated by a humble arrangement of warm vocals and guitar. Schwaber’s every word settles with weight, echoing the plea described in the song itself: “To be simple, to be bold, to believe.”
In the end, the song delivers us from the darkness into a playful outro, borrowing beloved motifs from Schwaber’s fellow songwriters over the years. “Vampire night, evil valentines unite.” The youthful mantra somehow cuts through the loneliness that is conjured within Evil Valentine, transporting us to a simpler, less crippling time.
Over the past 20 years Schwaber has released over 7 studio albums, including those released under the monikers ‘Hospital’ and ‘Home’. He plays every instrument on his most recent work, Everything Around Me, which was self-engineered and self-produced in his home. In the past, he has worked closely with Lou Barlow (Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr), Fred Maher (Lou Reed), Joan Wasser, Matthew Sweet, Lloyd Cole, Shadows Fall, and Mary Lou Lord.
A musician who has toured 19 countries and worked in studios with Lloyd Cole, Shadows Fall, Lou Barlow (Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr), Fred Maher (Lou Reed), Joan Wasser (Joan as Policewoman), Matthew Sweet, and Mary Lou Lord. He has also released award winning music as Hospital, and Home. As well as 6 eponymous releases, with a 7th in the midst of recording.