Tom McRae

The spooky and simple first track, 'You Cut Her Hair', is a good indication of the mood for the rest of the album, even though no two songs are alike. If the album had started with the more up-beat second track (and single) 'End Of The World News', then the album may have had a deceptive beginning, and the other songs could even be less approachable than they are. 'End Of The World News' is a good song for a hit single, but it's the only one of it's kind on here. Songs like 'One More Mile' are emotional songs of epic proportions, harking back to stuff like Jeff Buckley (remember him?). Other songs such as 'Bloodless' and 'The Boy With The Bubblegum' are strong, hard songs held together by nothing more than McRae's piercing voice. Beautiful and fearful. My personal favourite on the labum is 'Untitled', which just fills me with imagery of loss and passion, even if the meaning may be lost on me. I don't know.

I must say that between me and friends who have heard the album, there have been mixed responses. Many folks I know didn't like the album because they thought it was not especially colourful, or not catchy enough. I can agree with them there - none of the songs are especially catchy and sing-alongy, especially on the first listening. But the depth and beauty behind the songs appears over time, as it does with all good music, in my eyes anyway. The songs do end up in your head as easily as some tune you may have heard on the radio. But the songs stick in your head and could stand next to whatever memories you have to match them. If you have a sad memory, you may find a song here that will sit with it perfectly for a long time. If you have a good memory, you may find a song here that will be the perfect mini-soundtrack for it. I think that it's plainly obvious that McRae wrote each of these songs around a memory, or an emotion, or an event, and even if that particular situation is not aparent to the listener, the listener's own is, and becomes exhumed by the songs themselves.

Buy this album if you want to find some music that will grab you and really make you feel like there are still brilliant musicians out there. Musicians writing from the heart. Musicians writing for the sake of music, not money.

Simple acoustic guitar and haunting vocals are beautifully combined with flanged and distorted orchestration, making this one tight and atmospheric recording.

Choice listening on this album has to be the ultimately melancholy "End of the World News (Dose Me Up)", bringing in the con of religion against the world as we know it. Also, the haunting "Bloodless", telling the tale of presumption and unrequaited love. Lyrics like this make perfect sence, this man has lived and learnt and is not scared to pass on his knowledge.

This is a must in any music fan's collection as it demonsrates better than most the sheer brilliance of simplisity. Be warned about content though, Steps this ain't. But melancholy is the way that good music has always been, why change that. Tom McCrae - I tip my hat to you sir. Mesmarising.

This is music to slit your wrists to.
That's no bad thing but it's worth pointing out the unrelenting melancholy intermingled with the beauty.

I'd always thought that this was my favourite album of the three he's written (and I think it remains so) but I've realised that these songs take a while to sink in. With a good deal of play, and having seen Tom a few times, almost all these songs have become surging anthems to be sung along to rather than simply admired from the other end of a pair of earphones. The other two albums are starting to have the same effect.

Buy this CD and it'll become a part of you.