The moniker of singer-songwriter Jack Arky, Mulberry & Grand is a unique project that combines the more springy and light-hearted energy of an indie folk tune with darker pop sensibilities embedded within. On ‘Round, The World Keeps Round’, he asks the most profound question of our moment: how (or if) humankind might find our way out of the plight we’ve created. It’s darkly existential, almost drawing influence from a Father John Misty type artist. It forces and compels you to not just look inward, but also very broadly at every little bit of life around you. All the tragedies that we as a species have facilitated and continue to allow to happen start to become more visible and increasingly depressing.
There’s a darkness in the sombre tone that Arky brings to life. But what’s even more intriguing and compelling is his ability to create such a luscious and luxurious soundscape that has you appreciating the grandeur of it all. There’s a lot that’s horrible about the life we live in, but even though we find ourselves on the edge of it all, it all starts to get more beautiful. We owe it to ourselves and this world to try and labour our ways into remedying it all.