John Nelson Mark - Sings the Moon (CD) - CD

Details: Two months after his high school graduation, John Mark Nelson jumped to the top of Minneapolis' Folk-Pop scene with 2012's WAITING AND WAITING, a home-made album that split the difference between Nick Drake's quiet, stripped-back acoustics and Andrew Bird's orchestral sweep. Two years later, he's ready to make a bigger splash with SINGS THE MOON, the most detailed, collaborative album of his young career. Only 19 years old, Nelson sings with a slow-smoked croon that belies his age, and he fills his lyrics with sharp, detailed observations of life and love in the Midwest. Local Indie/Pop songwriter Jeremy Messersmith makes an appearance on the album. Members of Prince and Andrew Bird's touring bands also appear but Nelson is still the undisputed captain of this ship, steering his crew between intimate Folk ballads and peppy, woodsy rave-ups with ease.