| ·Third album from Victoria’s queen of off-centre country features musical contributions from Tolan McNeil, Ford Pier, Kelly Hogan and Neko Case.
Her thrift-store kitsch somehow gets translated into her sound, giving her songs an aura of being from some rare era that never quite happened, but should have. She makes enough references to wine, whiskey and hangovers to qualify as the female Dean Martin. And as a singer, Carolyn Mark manages to be fun and funny and sad all at the same time in a way that makes her wistful, charismatic and human.
Listening to Pros and Cons of Collaboration is like running down the back alleys of youth, glimpsing vignettes of mundane middle-class Canadian life skewed by lust for music, travel and wine. "The Overture" begins the album in a medley of showbizzy riffs, proving that Mark is secure in the dedication of her audience. It’s just weird enough to intrigue listeners new to Mark’s style, and silly enough that her long-time fans will lean forward and wait for the punchline. They needn’t wait long – on the second track when Mark delivers the knockout "2 Days Smug and Sober" with lines such as "Lower your standards and I’ll lower mine" and "I’m more in love with this cigarette than I’ll ever be with you."
"Not A Doll" is instantly recognizable as the deserving centrepiece in Mark’s recent segment on The Undiscovered Country TV series and there are poignant songs about hangovers, the United States, Vincent Gallo and not dating a man who drinks white wine. There are also a couple of average tracks, as if she runs out of songs just before she runs out of album. The inclusion of Junior Gone Wild’s "Slept All Afternoon" all dolled up in pedal steel and melancholy, plus a cover of "Bigger Bed" does much to address any sins.
Overall, Mark remains the same slurrin’ country sweetheart we fell in love with on Party Girl and who continued to romance us with Terrible Hostess.
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