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The Alphabet Of Hurricanes - Tom McRae Album Review

Posted: 4th March 2010
Review Info
Rating:
4 out of 5
Artist:
Release Date:
22nd Feb 2010
Label:
Cooking Vinyl Records
Reviewer:
Elly Roberts
The Alphabet Of Hurricanes - Tom McRae Album Review

Album Review

The McRaenium rides againand still doesnt fall off.

Tom McRae has consistently proved to be one of Britains most endearing songwriters. It beggars belief he hasnt become a household name.

This 40-year old troubadour has been knocking out some cracking albums for ten years, so The Alphabet.might bring him much deserved recognition with mainstream audiences. Problem is, McRae isnt pop per say, so hes got a battle on his hands.

I first stumbled across McRae via his excellent All Maps Welcome album in 2005. His last offering King Of Cards did make the UK charts, at the lower end.

Troubadour McRae opens with strum-lite banjo and piano on Still Love You, a delightfully melodic ditty that needs little dressing because its neat and tidy as it is.

A Is For, a cacophonous clarinet battle lasting 52 seconds segues seamlessly into the swirling dance ambience of Wont Lie with Oliver Krauss cello adding gorgeous textures, with Brad Gordons clarinet featuring once again, and McRae on banjo, creating a modern twist on Gypsy folk. What starts as a perky jaunt, builds and builds to a whopping crescendo, closed by McRaes delicate banjo picks.

After the ominous and moody Summer of John Wayne, he hits his stride with the effervescent Told My Troubles To The River, a frenetic alt-folk shuffle, which is too one dimensional to be effective.

Theres no such problem on Please. This has a gradual and stirring prefix to a whopping finale with handclaps and chants, making it the jewel in the crown.

For Out Of The Walls, a tale of unrelenting demons in the mind, hes gone for a haunting template of voice and ghosting piano, with additional simple instrumentation on the run-out.

Cant Find You is typical stripped backed balladeering with guitar, that ghosting piano again, and accordion. Theres a similar patina on closer, Fifteen Miles Downriver, a downcast ballad giving the biggest nod yet to dusty Americana stylings, once again proving McRae doesnt really require much to make his work truly stand out from the rest of the pack.

The verdict As good as ever.

Elly Roberts