Joe Mannix and Chris Peck were in Oral Groove, a pretty good NYC pop band that after two albums and an EP called it a day. Mannix have recently released Pretty Strange that mixes Van Dyke Parks, Warren Zevon, Keith Read and even Al Stewart type lyrics to a diversified yet mainly acoustic setting, but with enough freshness and vitality to please even people with the attention span of a flea. This album has become an obsession for me-- it contains one of the most beautiful songs that I've heard, Arms Around You. I just needed to know more and happily Joe was able to answer some questions between laying down some new demos.

Why did Oral Groove split?

Oral Groove worked at it for a long time. I guess it wasn't meant to be. There was a lot of great talent in that band but it just never really happened for us. I started the band with my childhood best friend. We are no longer friends. It was not a happy ending. He has his version. I have mine.

What were you trying to achieve when you started this album?

Well, I wanted to make an album that linked all my writing styles together and told a story in a cohesive song cycle. I had been writing all these songs that sounded so different yet they shared a common thread. Each new song that I was writing during this period of time was telling me so much about myself. It wasn't until I put the whole album together and realised I had just wrote what I had been living and feeling for the past two years. I guess it was my own kind of therapy. I didn't realise it at the time. The lyrical story behind the album is about a guy who is coming to terms with who he is in this life and his final questioning of the male myth. Leading to a desperate situation in Afterglow. He is finally able to give up this macho mask: Sinatra's Dead. He's questioning his surroundings, his way of life, his dreams-- Watership Down, his family-- You Made It This Way and the love and love lost-- Arms Around You. After self-inflicted hardship, he is finally liberated.

Pop or Roots?

Both! And then some. All shapes and sizes! This album has pop, rock, folk all wrapped into one.

Influences on the album?

Believe it or not, I really never had any influences in mind when I did this album. I know that sounds strange, but it's the truth. Things just unfolded as they did with previous projects. I know I always had the Beach Boys, Husker Du or Charlie Rich on my mind. I never really though of influences on this one. I just let it happen. The pressure of Oral Groove weren't there any more so it was a lot easier to be creative. I didn't have to fit into a mould.