Mark Schirmacher - Losing Things

Mark Schirmacher

Losing Things
self-released; 2019

​4.0 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Mark Schirmacher is an American singer and musician whose indy-folk songwriting celebrates love, relationships and the complexities of the human heart. Last year we reviewed Bird in Your Tree and he is now back with Losing Things.

The first thing I usually do before listening to the music on an album is try and absorb the album cover. Well, in this case the album cover certainly seems to match the the title. Schirmacher looks as if he is six months late on his mortgage and his partner just left him. I thought this was going to be a much more somber affair than his previous release. The title of the album and cover art felt a little misleading when I listened to the music. This album has plenty of joyful and hopeful moments. There are also soft, intimate moments which mix melancholy and nostalgia but I never got a real feeling of despair that I thought I might be getting on this album.

The album starts with “Tomorrow (feat. Laurels String Quartet)” which is a warm song and I loved the orchestral strings. It’s an opening song that’s a bit of a slow burn. There is a mix of emotions and I really liked that Schirmacher did not go overboard with this song where it went full epic with numerous crescendos. It had the potential to do that which I think is actually very predictable. This song is more nuanced. The swells and tension is more reflective of actual emotions with little highs and lows.

“Never Gonna Let You Go (that easily tonight)” is a single worthy song and very upbeat and joyful. As I mentioned I was kind of surprised to hear such an upbeat vibe given the title and album art. Up next is “Sleep” which is intimate and warm. I would argue a song like this contains more space than melancholy. That’s really the point of music like this in my opinion. It’s relatable when you recognize the beauty in sadness.

As the album progresses, there were a number of highlights. “4 Walls” might be the highlight. It’s at least one of the top two for me. Schirmacher’s vocals sound exceptional on this song. The instrumentation is warm, rich and lush. I was reminded of Simon & Garfunkel. “It's a Dream (feat. Laurels String Quartet)” contains some great string although I totally disagree with him - I love it when my lady goes out on a girls night - time to indulge in video games or have the boys over to have a beer.

The production and recording quality is fantastic. This type of music deserves high fidelity so you can hear those string and nuances in the more intimate songs.

This  is a great release and another one in the win column for Schirmacher. Take a listen.

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