Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Hot Press,-April O5
Make no bones about it,'Box Heart Man' is a cracking American Rock Album - not rock in the spiky haired punk or earnest grunge sense but the classic school of thinking, imbued with a sense of the nations music history...The music backs this approach perfectly, a beautifully controlled racket of classic instrumentation and note perfect playing...'Box, Heart, Man' is an exhilarating listen,bustling with positivity and a way of seeing the best in life
- Hot Press Magazine (Ireland)
“Mark Dignam... combines personal observations with a raging, passionate political conscience, showing the potential… to join the front ranks of contemporary Irish folk songwriters.”
- All Music Guide
• SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK: Mark Dignam — Box Heart Man (Times Beach) :: Irish folk singer Dignam starts off his record with a classic George Harrison “Blue Jay Way” drone before abruptly shifting gears down into some of the strongest and most heartfelt pickin’ and singin’ I’ve heard in quite a while. • Be seeing you!
- Detroit Metro Times January 2005
Mark Dignam - Box Heart Man (CD, Times Beach, Pop)
Ireland's Mark Dignam now calls Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania his home. After making an initial splash in his home country, he decided he needed to see more of the world and that he wanted to reach more people with his music. Dignam's music is intriguing because it seems to symbolize how similar Irish and Americana pop now sound to one another. This young man's songs contain themes that are universal to all people. Each song title on Box Heart Man consists of a single word: "Divine," "Hope," "Ghosts," "Kindred"... The tunes are embraced by effective guitars and sparse arrangements...allowing the listener to concentrate on Dignam's introspective lyrics. Heartfelt and sincere, this collection of tunes truly strikes emotional chords. (Rating: 4++++)
- LMNOP.COM
"Mark Dignam's debut album "Poetry And Songs From The Wheel" features one of the finest Irish songs ever written, "Paint My Love". - D'Side Magazine Ireland)
"A songwriter with a rare gift of insight and vision...highly passionate and griping" - Rock 'n' Reel (UK)
"The vulnerability that sits at the heart of many of these lyrics is beautifully balanced by both rage and defiance." - The Irish Times
"He stings with a lazer beam of insight that'd knock the socks off the most seasoned of shrinks" - Hot Press Magazine (Ire/UK)
...a skylarking astral spirituality... picks up on some of the more grounded, more dirty affectations of American folk and blues. - City Paper Pittsburgh
Overcoming obstacles is a central theme in his music... his motivation is woven from the beauty of discovery and a wandering search for truth... bellows at the Pittsburgh skyline like a fool in love. - Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Discography
"Poetry and Songs from the Wheel" Album 1995
"In a Time of Overstatement" Album 1997
"...and one for all" Album 2002
"Pinwheel" EP 2004
"Box-Heart-Man" Album 2005
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Dublin born Mark Dignam, a central figure of the 90's songwriting gathering that included Irish stars such as The Frames, Paddy Casey, Damien Rice, Damien Dempsey, Gemma Hayes.
Influences range from a lot of different people and places Mark has encountered on his extensive travels coupled to a keen talent for social observation, culminating in great songwriting and powerful often witty performances. A Mark Dignam Show can be best described by saying "Come down, sing and get involved."
Dignam has been consistently called "A masterful lyricist" by the International Music Press and can stand up to deliver a solo show to match most bands.
The new album "Box Heart Man", recorded for Times Beach Records has been receiving rave reviews and winning many hearts and minds at recent shows...
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