"Gondwanaland"
(2001)

Lost and lonely, disenchanted, faithless and resigned - sad, small characters come alive in the songs of Michael McDaeth. He sets his players on a stark stage of gruff voice and understated acoustic guitar, an economy of expression akin to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska. Tom Waits fans, too, will appreciate McDaeth's gift for finding the sublime in the banal: "I'm stuck at a stop light eating a deep fried sugar loaf ain't contemplating suicide/I'm empty inside but I'm all right" (from "Profitability"). A riverboat tour, recorded on micro cassette, plays in the background throughout Gondwanaland, providing eerie counterpoint to these quietly unsettling tales. As reviewed by Jim Santo - demouniverse.com