Mark Ruebery

Just like with Cary Brothers, I was given a snippet of what Mark Ruebery was capable of in a four-track sampler only to discover “I WANT TO HEAR MORE!” Ruebery has written and co-produced each and every track on this release and played nearly all instruments you hear. With his mix of classic rock and pure ballad sounds, be prepared to adore Mark Ruebery.

Ruebery has opted to release his debut album ‘Because Of You’ independently and will gain a lot of respect for this record. Each of the tracks he has written means something special and quite personal to him. ‘Something Opens Windows’ for example is written about heading in new directions and leaving your past behind you, while others take on a more emotional vision like the slightly darker ‘Burning Inside’.

‘It Goes And Comes Around’ is the lead single off the album and opens with such confidence that I was left stunned. The album continues with this self-assurance in what you are hearing. The majority of songs on this release give off a similar ambience, one of an outdoor intimate live performance; the clapping within ‘Someday’ make this ever more evident. What makes this feeling so prevailing are two things, Ruebery’s vocals and the music he is creating.

There is such as musical range stored on this release. There are the reserved guitar based ballads such as ‘Something Opens Windows’ to the rock ‘Cold November’; this is a song that will knock you for six as it breaks the delicacy that the album had followed to this point. Mark Ruebery has a vocal range that many musicians would kill for. The yearning of ‘Burning Inside’ to the subtle ballads title track to the upbeat ‘In My Dream’ this lad has a way to make every song his passion and energy. The later of these tracks includes some backing harmonies of a rather settled nature.

This guy should be proud of the musical creations he has produced. They make a listener shiver as if he singing straight to your heart and he makes you want to just sit back, make eye contact and ignore the world surrounding you. Which is highly recommended… - Room Thirteen

“Quietly confident, Mark Ruebery melts
onto the world of music with an
unassuming air; but make no mistake —
his lack of a fanfare only adds to the
unshakable feeling of him always having
been there... ”

A SINGER WHOSE COOL CONFIDENCE needs no showy accolades, no supporting artifice and sparse need of the hollow echo of empty hype — that's Mark Ruebery, nonetheless powerfully performing his debut album Because Of You, due for release in the UK on 18 August (2008).

Clever boy — Mark Ruebery has pitched his particular brand of music infused with classic rock-cum-ballad/retro pop fairly and squarely at an eagerly-waiting audience.

Because Of You is in every sense the album of Mark's life. An excellent presentation of thirteen creditable tracks, it introduces a significant new voice to the world of music. Once he'd graduated from The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Mark held an ambition to make music his life.

A talented songwriter who has taught guitar to schoolchildren, Mark is a noted multi-instrumentalist and has been much in demand as a session musician for a variety of Welsh acts. Having performed his songs at the Brecon Jazz Festival, Liverpool's Cavern Club, the Raglan Festival, the Green Belt Festival and, with the band The Sails, some of New York's more notable venues, he will be performing at The Monmouth Festival on 1 August (2008).

Mark Ruebery's Because Of You is a wonderful mix of well-chosen tracks from this talented, darkly good-looking young man with a passion for making music — we'll watch his progress with interest. Recorded at Rockfield Studios (Queen, Stone Roses, Coldplay) and co-produced with Nick Brine (The Darkness, Oasis, Ash), the album is, says the publicity machine, "a richly impassioned record of classic rock songs and pure, thoroughbred ballads, each delivered in a rich, oak-soaked voice full of yearning and real passion".

As a dedicated artiste, Mark wanted to do everything for himself on Because Of You —
he wrote and co-produced the album, played all the instruments and released the CD independently with a single-minded approach and dogged devotion to his art.

Lead-off single It Goes And Comes Around (released August 4) is described as "the kind of number that could make your average British motorway instantly transform into Route 66; an anthem made for driving with the window down, foot to the floor." Certainly it's a foot-tapping, musically-full song that has an interesting arrangement. Someday is another track that gets you going with its great melody.

We also liked the more unusual Burning Inside, that is described as "robust; a grown-up song about love and passion that could stand alongside those of any of childhood's heroes". It suits Mark's voice well and offers him the opportunity to explore his vocal capabilities.

The title track, Because Of You, is worthy of mention musically. Again, an interesting song with a slightly different treatment. Something Opens Windows is a track about leaving your past behind and throwing yourself headlong into the future and has a very affecting chorus.

• Mark Ruebery's superb new album Because Of You will be released on LPW Records on 18 August 2008. His single, It Goes And Comes Around (from the album), will be released on 4 August (2008).
- Motor Bar Maggie Woods