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If anyone thought that Mark Edgar Stuart’s critically acclaimed 2013 debut, Blues for Lou — an emotionally impactful concept LP about his late father — might’ve been a fluke, the luck of a first-timer, his new album proves otherwise.
Released this week, Stuart’s second effort, Trinity My Dear (Madjack), is a subtly and expertly crafted set, with a core of songs about the difficulties of long-term romantic relationships; it finds Stuart further refining his voice as a storyteller and lyricist. He will mark the release of the disc with a show this Sunday at Lafayette’s Music Room.
Stuart’s evolution into one of the city’s best songwriters is an unexpected development for someone who began a solo career only a few years ago. Although he’d been playing in Memphis bands for years — including the Pawtuckets, Secret Service, the 145s and others — remarkably, Stuart had never even tried his hand at writing until his mid-30s. “I’d contributed some riffs here and there in whatever band I was in,” said Stuart, “but I never sat down and said, ‘I’m gonna write a song.’”