Mike Grosshandler- Wrote Myself

With a smattering of acoustic demos culled from material written over the span of a decade and recorded in his living room, Mike Grosshandler's Wrote Myself is a competent 13 track outing complete with liner notes very briefly detailing the writing of each song. Well-written and perhaps more layered and better produced than one might expect from the "demo" moniker, it's a solid 41-minute slice of intimate acoustic rock a la the type you're likely to find at a coffee shop, small club, or, perhaps, the student union building of a college campus.

From arpeggio-based numbers like "Now for a Then" to material built around an acoustic rhythm guitar background, which includes much of the rest of the album, the disc is highlighted by layered lead guitar accents and very nicely layered and arranged vocals. The intricacy and strong songwriting and performances of the disc's instrumentals, "Couchside" and "Benchy", show off Grosshandler's musical chops, while the beautifully melancholy "Flying", dating all the way back to 1993, is a definite standout thanks to spectacular production and excellent use of backing vocals. Other standouts include "Digestion", with its noteworthy instrumental bridge riff, the lovely, moody "Emily's Song (Forever With Me)", and the disc's title track, also featuring a spectacular instrumental intro/bridge and a nice guitar breakdown. The set is also, notably, rounded out by a rather good, albeit straightforward, acoustic cover of Type O Negative's "Die With Me".

Despite the Type O Negative cover and influence, the album's somewhat more mainstream collection of 3-minute acoustic rock/pop numbers may not exactly appeal to goth rock or metal listeners. However, fans of mellow acoustic rock should certainly give Mike Grosshandler's fairly impressive second demo compilation a listen.