Northeast Performer has been around forever. We've been sending CDs to them since well before we had driver's licenses, though back then it was just called New England Performer. Anyway, back in the April 2006 issue Josh Hoey reviewed The Accident That Led Me To The World's debut:

"The Accident That Led Me To The World is the product of Mark Mandeville's fertile imagination and formidable songwriting talents. Like Neutral Milk Hotel and the Decemberists before him, Mandeville is able to craft a reality of his own through deceptively simple songs rich in subtlety and nuance. He achieves his powerful results largely through the interplay of rhythmic fingerpicking, upright bass, and tasteful cello and violin accents. Multi-instrumentalist Raianne Richards' haunting vocals provide the final element, her melodies intertwining with Mandeville's and lifting the entire thing to new heights.

The striking cover art features a charcoal sketch of a man in a canoe, heading towards an empty sea. Many of Mandeville's poetic lyrics contain seafaring references. "The wind blew my whole house down / I rode the scattered wood out to the sea / Believe me the movement of the waves will make you dizzy / In the dark by the stars I'm truly guided." It emphasizes the sea-chantey feel of the music. Mandeville's wistful vocal style is at times very reminiscent of a more restrained Colin Meloy.

The album maintains a cohesive whole while Mandeville and company manage to cover quite a bit of stylistic territory. "All My Ghosts" prominently features banjo in a context that recalls the Pogues, complete with a barroom sing-along ending. "Below" relies largely on bowed strings and clarinet, though Mandeville contributes some swift fingerpicking as well.

Only a handful of the 12 tracks eclipse the two-minute mark, a testament to Mandeville's ability to get his point across with an economy of words and a limited musical palette. Jerry Fels' production is sparse, yet crystal clear, allowing the smallest detail of each musician's playing to come through. Discovering this DIY gem would certainly qualify as a lucky accident."