Mark Mathis is a soul singer. Not, obviously, soul in the style of seventies R&B, but in that broader sense that includes songsmiths like Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Bruce Springsteen. Like those classic singer songwriters, Mathis writes songs for the masses, for the broke down and the low down; for the blue collars and the beer drinkers. And when his voice gears down into his trademark low growl, soul oozes out of every pore.
Mathis fronts the Charlotte, North Carolina band Public Radio an apt, yet possibly misleading title. If "public radio" conjures up images of soft spoken deejays and orchestral dirges for you, then nothing could be further from the truth. Public Radio rocks out, in a post-indie kind of way, recalling hints of Pavement, Pedro the Lion, and Tom Petty with an aftertaste of early Springsteen. Throw in a splash of folk Americana and you've got this homegrown bouquet that's aged to perfection
