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Review
Sounding like a tired and weary group of circus troupe artists trekking homewards through muddy country lanes at night, Tom McRae’s fifth studio album shows clear signs of having been made by a man suffering from a level of nervous exhaustion – prompted by a ferocious touring schedule over the last three years.
But thankfully this record is short on narcissistic self pity and somewhat longer on eloquent, windswept folk tales of crepuscular meetings, heavy seas and worn-out clothes.
The portentousness is ladled on a tad too quickly in places. The claustrophobic atmospherics of the wonderfully titled Summer of John Wayne funnel out into a pointlessly dirgy middle sequence, and Told My Troubles to the River has Waits-style guttural intentions that fail to fully convince.
American Spirit, however, is a gorgeous paean to lost passions that ends with McRae’s voice slowly fading from the speakers as he implores us to “swim with me further from the shore. Swim with me ‘til I can swim no more”. The album’s standout, Please, begins with a rolling acoustic riff reminiscent of Rider on the Wheel by Nick Drake, before veering deeper into a soundscape filled with a sooty marching band, dirty yet defiant.
Now largely free to concentrate on the music alone, following dangerous levels of hype early in his career, McRae confirms on this showing that he’s capable of producing an unfiltered, muggy sound where fires burn only to be quickly doused within the confines of just one verse. This is a far from perfect album, but at its peak it’s highly mature, seasoned music. Exhaustion clearly seems to be beneficial to McRae’s unique sound. --Rob Crossan
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spinechilling, Rollercoaster of an Album,
By
This review is from: The Alphabet of Hurricanes (Audio CD)
I have been a avid Tom McRae since his first self titled album 10 long years ago. I always look forward to each new Tom McRae album but there is always an element of nervousness ... will the new album meet my high expectations from Mr McRae... and Alphabet of Hurricanes sure does.
Another fantastic release sees Tom going back to his roots; spine chilling music, great lyrics and rollercoster rides. From "Still Love You" with it's catchy, foot tapping banjo to the quite brilliant and epic "Out of the Walls"(just close your eyes and shut out the world with this track) the album is full of real gems. The CD deserves to be in every CD collection, and we all know it won't receive the credit it deserves .. perhaps that's what make Tom McRae who he is though.......... ...... maybe it's time to test this theory though!!!!!!! Keep up the Good work Mr McRae.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
it's great!,
By simon locke (uk) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Alphabet of Hurricanes (Audio CD)
I was fortunate enough to be played a promotional copy of this album last week and I was surprised. I have been listening to Tom McRae since Just Like Blood and always enjoyed his acute sense of how to turn a phrase and construct a beautiful melody but I felt that he had wandered away from his strengths on King of Cards, as if he was wearing a suit that just didn't fit him.
Alphabet of Hurricanes is I think his best work since Just Like Blood, and a close relation to his debut, with it's stark lyrics and bare sound, which occasionally gives way to huge swells of accompanying instruments. It is by far his most intimate album, recorded in his flat and noticeably devoid of the decorative frills of Just Like Blood or the jarring attempts to be overtly mainstream on King of Cards. It actually reminded me of the folk touchstone, Pink Moon. It is a very different record to that, but like that the bareness and poetic honesty is breathtaking. Tom has a very unique sounding album here and it will perhaps in time be my favourite after a year of listening. More than anything this album sounds like a man who has learnt who he is, where he belongs and the sound of someone loves what he is doing. I hope it gets him the kind of attention he richly deserves, but I fear it is too intimate and private for a mainstream audience. I do not think that is a bad thing. I strongly recommend it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the return of a great sound,
By
This review is from: The Alphabet of Hurricanes (Audio CD)
Having received my copy this very morn and listened to it, I feel it only right to compliment the artist for this outstanding work. I must quote Mr Locke with his reference to "Alphabet of Hurricanes is I think his best work since Just Like Blood", I too feel this to be true. A rich and worthy addition to any music collection. In a word - Brilliant.
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