Marcus’s solo debut EP, The Three Mile Marker, is purposeful pop-rock, accessible and imaginative like Peter Gabriel, tenderly confessional a la John Mayer, and masterfully composed in the tradition of Joni Mitchell. The stunning title track features atmospheric textured verses that, like sun peering through a cloudy day, yield to a boldly emotional soaring chorus. “That represents the moment when we get clear we need to take a risk and do the hard, unpopular thing,” he says. Here Marcus sings with soulful urgency:
At three mile marker gonna make my mind up
either way I’ll be OK
this time
it’s up to me/and baby that’s enough.
The mesmerizing “Xs Ys and Equal Signs” artfully and directly weaves in Marcus’s work as a therapist. “That’s inspired by a math teacher’s equations on his chalk board and then thinking how much I, and a lot of other folks I know or am helping, overthink everything, especially relationships and matters of the heart,” he says.
The EP’s most personal statement is the stately “Hang Gliding.” Its elegantly spare piano and voice core presentation imbues its message with added poignancy. “That’s based on losing my father as well as my best friend and songwriting partner Paul Delph,” Marcus says.
Currently, Marcus is readying a wonderful stylistic counterpoint to The Three Mile Marker — an elegantly sparse singer-songwriter release that feels like experiencing an intimate Paul Marcus living room concert — it’s close, personal, and unvarnished. This will be a mix of reimagined versions of previously unreleased material and fresh, new compositions.