The title track certainly sums up the current version and vision of former Miracle Legion frontman Mark Mulcahy; his deliciously dark, moody, yet melodic voice just hovers over the spare, eerie Farfisa organ and accordion of this irony-drenched ditty.

Singing with elegantly profound world-weariness and love- leeriness, In Pursuit of Your Happiness stands up to his best work. "A lifetime of crime has put me here, with time off for bad behavior" ("Be Sure") and "The things I love don't bring me joy, the things I want I want to destroy" ("I Have Patience") are just two of the many lyrical gems Mulcahy sprinkles around.

Bass and cello carry "Everything's Coming Undone," and "Nothing But A Silver Medal" is unabashedly Dylan, while the epic "He Vanished" has a twisted "Leader of the Pack" kind of narration. Like the Beatles did at times, Mulcahy can paint dark pictures with such melodic majesty that they seem almost rosy.

Mulcahy maintains an elusive, under-the-radar career that in ways suits him well. Seek out this CD. Sadness never sounded so good. Available for purchase at www.mezzotint.com.

When the definition of music slips free from its commercial constraints, the results can be both undisciplined and energizing. 
Veteran sound artist and composer Ellen Band and sound and visual artist David Lee Myers have joined forces in an aural collaboration called Two Ships. But the result is more than two artists passing in the night. 

By blending sonic environments and specialized electronic circuitry, Band and Myers have crafted a suite of compositions on this CD, identified by three names: Valen Lagoon, Cape Viqven, and Laventiya Bay. Whether they have drawn musical inspiration from places fictional or actual is not apparent. (The map on the insert may have been conjured by the composers.) But what is obvious is that they have created tangible places in time that are, as Myers explains in the liner notes, "aquatic in nature" and "nocturnal." Their style seamlessly melds radio static and a steam kettle whine with church bells and the croaking of frogs. 

Far more transcendent than Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music and more inviting than Steve Reich compositions, Two Ships offers a multi textured, sensual getaway for the ears and mind. Book passage now: www.pogus.com.

Eric Erickson's new songs are 13 sweetly melodious pop/rock pieces filled with gutsy lyrics that create a personal portrait of the singer-songwriter in his own, as well as the larger world.

The album opens with the title song, written in honor of a love rekindled during a total solar eclipse, performed a capella by Erickson and his wife, Ellen Reitemeyer. "If I Could Do That Once," "Just Getting Started," and "On to Me" wax witty about coming to terms with success and failure at midlife. Four more songs focus on the moon: "Me and the Moon," Bing Crosby's "Moonlight Becomes You," an instrumental duet between Erickson's guitar and Betty MacDonald's violin, and "Light of the Morning," a lullaby . A personal favorite: "Slow and Steady," a so far unrecorded James Taylor tune in which Erickson sounds eerily just like the man. Many guests, including Peter Davis, Vinnie Martucci, and Abby Newton add extra spice. www.EricErickson.com.