Mark Eitzel’s latest is a vividly creative career retrospective, with a title that’s all too fitting for one of history’s most self-deprecating songwriters. The Ugly American is about as far as you can get from typical “greatest hits” packages. For the project, Eitzel cherry-picked six songs from his days fronting the indie-rock darlings American Music Club, and three from his underrated solo career, re-recording them with the help of a nonet of traditional Greek musicians.
The results of this alluring artistic leap are as good as advertised. Eitzel’s pervading sadness and brutal wit shine as brightly as ever on these reinterpretations, and the exotic sounds of his bouzouki-flavored backing band are an intoxicating fit. It’s tough to beat the original versions of great AMC songs like “Will You Find Me?” and “Nightwatchman,” but The Ugly American works, because Eitzel isn’t in competition with himself. He’s investigating each song, dusting them off and adding some fascinating cultural elements.
“Love’s Humming” is the album’s only new composition, written by band member Manolis Famellos, who apparently had quite an influence on The Ugly American. Marked by the soft, Eastern trills of the mandolin and clarinet, it fits snugly alongside Eitzel’s songs, giving a weight of authenticity to this wonderfully strange look back.