9th Ward Pickin' Parlor

1	Blue as You 3:14
2	Beautiful Wreck 4:09
3	Cold Black Heart 4:24
4	Faith 4:19
5	Homemade Wine 4:04
6	Talkin' Goin' to Alaska Blues 3:49
7	We Could Go and Start Again 3:41
8	Kelly's Song 2:18
9	Find Love 4:09
10	All Fall Down 5:55
11	Lay Down Your Swords, Boys 6:18
12	Solitaire Bonus Track 3:20
13	House of the Rising Sun Bonus Track 6:00

Barnes & Noble

The Ninth Ward referred to in the title of the latest release by erstwhile singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins is the New Orleans neighborhood where he recorded the disc -- before Hurricane Katrina ravaged the area. Other than a cover of the classic "House of the Rising Sun" -- which builds intriguingly from mournful acoustic beginnings to a full-throttle electric outro -- he doesn't delve all that deeply into the Crescent City's innate sound. He does, however, capture its restless spirit, calling on previously untapped influences such as gospel (the bedrock of the insistent "Faith") and medieval British folk (which imbues the mandolin-laced "Cold Black Heart" with a palpable sense of portent). Fans who came to know Mullins's work through his hit "Lullaby" will find a few things to like here -- notably "Blue as You," which was co-written by his Thorns bandmates Pete Droge and Matthew Sweet -- but for the most part, the disc eschews pop convention to document Mullins's explorations of the roots of American music. To his credit, he not only manages to excavate some fascinating stuff but also to put enough personal spin on the unearthed material to make it his own. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Not surprisingly, Shawn Mullins' association with Sony didn't last long. His sophomore release for the label never found its audience, and with eclectic singer/songwriters not exactly in vogue in 2005, he found a more comfortable and logical home at Vanguard. Here was a company that thrived on, and had a successful history, promoting other artists with idiosyncratic folk and folk-rock styles similar to Mullins. The feeling was obviously mutual, since he delivers a gem of a debut, 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor, for the legendary imprint.

With acoustic tracks recorded at the titular New Orleans studio, pre-Hurricane Katrina, Mullins has crafted a diverse offering that encompasses folk, rock, Celtic, and country, often interlocking in the same tune. He aims for early Black Crowes territory on the gospel-laced "Faith," and gives a personal spin to a self-penned murder ballad "Cold Black Heart," which is dominated by his work on charango, an Andean mandolin. The mandolin also plays a prominent role in "Homemade Wine," a moody story-song ballad about leaving a town and a life behind that takes advantage of Mullins' deep, expressive voice. "All Fall Down" finds its rocking heart in the Beatles' "I Want You," especially as it builds in intensity as circular chords accentuate the melody. The disc's first single, the harder-edged "Beautiful Wreck" is also better than anything on the short-lived Thorns' project, a band where Mullins shared the stage with Matthew Sweet and Pete Droge (Droge helped co-write the track). Mullins goes traditional religious on the waltz-timed "Lay Down Your Swords, Boys" that gradually intensifies from solo mandolin by slowly adding instruments until it culminates in full Salvation-Army-band mode with backing vocals. Mullins taps into his inner James Taylor on the bluesy "Solitaire," and closes out the album with a moving version of "House of the Rising Sun" that also builds from acoustic to electric as the singer interestingly takes the original female voice of the protagonist. The song seems to be his tribute to New Orleans, a city whose dusky atmosphere has subtly contributed to Shawn Mullins' most poignant, cohesive, and diverse album. Hal Horowitz