Album Notes

Mike Bailey's new release, Point, is an unexpected gem: an eclectic mix of tunes from a low-profile songwriter with a knack for writing mysteries. It's not that Bailey's songs are inaccessible; some of the tunes on Point are downright catchy. But most have something else locked away: Find the one lyric that's the key, and the whole song opens up to reveal a deeper, and often darker, meaning. Take, for example, the song Annie, which at first listen appears to be about loneliness and finding friendship; but learn that it's about anorexia, and lines like "The more I see of you, the less they see of me" take on a meaning that's so different and so obvious that you wonder how you missed it the first few times around. Then, there are songs like "Something's Happened," a story about a woman who quits her job, leaves home and settles on an isolated mesa, and about the man who follows her. There's no key to what that "something" is, but after listening to the song enough, and absorbing the music, you might just get to understanding what that "something" is, even if you, like Bailey, can't put it into words. Earnest vocals, soul-reaching songs and musical tripwires make Point a pleasure.