(American Rural Records) Though you could never tell from the thick twang in his voice, singer/songwriter Mark Jungers was born and raised in Bird Island, Minnesota, a small farming community 80 miles west of Minneapolis. His father died when he was young, and Mark and his brothers were left to try to keep the family farm going, and this instilled in Mark a strong work ethic. However, music was in his soul, and at night he'd sneak off to the barn to play his guitar and write songs. He played with several bands during those days, and after he graduated college, after one too many harsh Minnesota winters, he packed up his car and kept driving until he found a climate more to his liking. He didn't stop until he got to Austin. There he became a force on the Austin music scene starting in the 80's playing with various bands. Then in 1994, he moved to New Haven, CT with his then-fiancée, Joy, who went there to pursue her education. While in New Haven, Mark really concentrated on his songwriting, while playing with a couple of local bands. Homesick, they returned to Texas in 1997. 

Standing In The Way is Mark's second release since returning to Texas. With a voice that's part Steve Earle and part Robert Earl Keen, his songwriting draws heavily from his own life's experiences. Though the subject matter is heavy and dark, he adds in dashes of gallows humor that often provide the "moral" of his stories. Mark often combines the "Texas" sound with a more rustic sound, and gives even some of the albums darkest lyrics somewhat upbeat melodies.

The disc opens with "Sentimental Guy," a song that tells of the plight of the farmers and all the battles they're up against. "Conviction" follows the theme through, telling of his youth and showing his admiration of those that choose the harder life of keeping the small towns of rural America alive. "No Easy Way To Go" addresses the death of his father and how his family struggled to deal with it.

Mark takes a look at greed from a couple of different angles. There's "Unlucky," where no matter how much someone has, they always desire more. Then there's the offbeat twist of gallows humor he gives to "How Long," the tale of a usually unlucky gambler that meets his death on the one night he gets lucky, with the moral of the story coming in it's final verse. The outstanding "Repo Outlet Mall" came about from a fairly common sight along Texas highways, collections of repossessed mobile homes, and Mark's distaste of repo people that take advantage of other people's misfortune. The song tells the sad tale of one such family's misfortune, but the melody is upbeat, and in the end, Mark gives this story another shot of his gallows humor, where in the end, the family gets some measure of revenge via a tornado, and the listener just can't stifle a little smile of satisfaction at the outcome. Mark takes on the classic song of cold blooded murder with "Knoxville Girl." However, this ain't your Daddy's version, which is normally done as a mournful, bluegrassy waltz. On this souped up version, Mark speeds it up, and scarily, not only does it sound almost gleeful, it's catchy as all heck - and as inappropriate as the subject matter is, you'll soon catch yourself singing along, tapping your feet and probably even wanting to get up and dance around.

He also looks at two opposite sides of love. The kind as in "Be With You Tonight," where no matter what may go wrong in life, it's not so bad when you have the one you love beside you, and a lopsided relationship where the feelings are unequal on each side in "Remorse Waltz." In "Lord Have Mercy," Mark humorously addresses the fact we all reach that point in life where we look at our mortality, and hope  we didn't mess things up too badly and that God will show a little mercy when we reach the end. "Going Nowhere" looks back and ponders whether decisions we make in our lives were the right ones. The title track, "Standing In Your Way" is a song of encouragement to move forward and make changes, we all make mistakes, we have to accept them, learn from them and move on. Standing In Your Way closes with "The Critic Song" about having faith in yourself and not letting other people's criticism undermine your goals and confidence.

Mark Jungers has lived the songs he writes and sings, which makes both Mark and his songs genuine, a man that truly knows what he's singing about. His humor that pops up throughout his weighty subject matter is deliciously dark, and his lyrics are intelligent, thoughtful and thought provoking. This is the type of music adults can easily relate to, and that's exactly what Mark has provided with Standing In Your Way, music for adults.  

AnnMarie Harrington Take Country Back January 2003