Search - Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands :: Cody's Dream

The smoky baritone and country-n-blues sketches found within Cody?s Dream are similar to Mark Pickerel?s 2006 solo debut in structure and style, but this new release finds the former Screaming Trees drummer branching out in his storytelling. The title track and the parched "The Last Leaves" cover familiar ground for Pickerel but, after a lamenting cover of Bob Dylan?s "One More Cup of Coffee," the album explodes with swamp rock ("Leaving With the Swamptones"), pop hooks ("Cherokee Grove"), provocative love ballads ("I Promise"), and honey-dripping R&B ("And So Be It Then"). Chameleon-like, Pickerel plays ringleader and saloonkeeper until the end which, two promising forays into his solo career, is hopefully just the beginning. --Scott Holter