Album Notes

"Smart songs for beautiful people. Like you."

That’s how Mark Westin describes the contents of Dark Humour. On this, his third album of original music, Mark takes full ownership of the songcraft territory staked out on his previous two releases; Dark Humour matches sharply insightful lyrics with stellar musicianship and sonically superb production.

What will you hear when you listen to the songs that make up Dark Humour? A touch of Townshend, a dollop of Davies, a sliver of Steely Dan, perhaps a zegment of Zevon...or Zappa? These and many other wide-ranging musical and lyrical influences are in evidence, but Mark brings new blood to the time-honored tradition of the rock n’ roll songwriter. Equal parts crunchy guitars and delicate vocal harmonies, Dark Humour weaves classic threads into a modern tapestry.

The songs on Dark Humour paint detailed portraits of characters we all know, with lyrics that point fingers, poke fun and pull no punches. There’s the celebrity romance of "When Beautiful People Break Up", the surgically-enhanced babe of "Almost Got It Right", and the internet Romeo of "Falling in Love on Facebook". Then there’s "The Naked Houseboy", a six-minute suite that defies easy classification. From the angst-ridden loner of "Not a Stalker Song" to the unabashed self-love of "Narcissistic as Me" to the pure bite-the-hand-that-feeds snarl of "Open Mike" and "Formula", it’s popular entertainment that reflects Mark Westin’s…well, Dark Humour.

Dark Humour was produced by Todd Giudice at Roots Cellar Recording in Newburgh, New York, and features musical and vocal contributions from many nationally and internationally-known artists. Mark is known as a crowd-pleasing live performer both solo and with his band, with fans as close as his birthplace of New York City and as far flung as the UK, Belgium, and the Philippines. His previous albums "Move From Center" and “dirty folk” are also available on CD Baby.

Dark Humour features a very cool cover painting that's also available on T-shirts for men and women through the Buy Stuff link on the Spinach World website. You can get to it by clicking the link over on the left side of this page.