This is not just a return to a full band sound from Tom McRae but a real sit-up-and-shake-the-cobwebs attempt at reinvention.

McRae's previous release, From The Lowlands, distilled his introspection down to 48% proof; both lyrically and musically pared to the bone and at times painfully raw. It also felt like part of a slow spiral away from the ( Read more... )

"We come from the lowlands / Dream of high ground."

On first impressions From the Lowlands ('Being the second part of The Alphabet of Hurricanes') feels like a perplexingly spare, small record. An EP with ideas above its station. Certainly not the same kind of diverse, confident affair as its predecessor.

It's not long before those first ( Read more... )

On Friday we went to the beautiful and impressive Sage in Gateshead (i.e. South Newcastle but don't let them hear you say that) to see Tom McRae supported by Brian Wright. It's by far the nicest venue we've ever been to, all glass and aluminium and polished wood and airy spaces. Maybe we've been going to the wrong gigs ( Read more... )

We went to see what turned out to be the inaugural date of Tom McRae's Alphabet of Hurricanes tour last night, in the reasonably tiny upstairs room of the O2 Academy2, Newcastle. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, although the fact that the doors opened half an hour late did result in moderate hypothermia. Sadly no-one has yet invented Warm ( Read more... )

Hurray! My Tom McRae Live 2007 album arrived yesterday. Just listening to it now, and it sounds every bit as sharp and powerful as you'd expect.


( Read more... )

That Tom McRae single I mentioned, "Lipstick", is out now. It's one of those "featuring Tom McRae" arrangements where the original artist 'Wills and the Willing' supplied the backing track and a bit of rap and he wrote and performed the rest ( Read more... )

On Thursday we drove up to Edinburgh to see the Hotel Cafe tour headlined by Tom McRae. We went to the Hotel Cafe tour in Newcastle in 2006 and we saw him solo in Edinburgh last year so this fused the two experiences. The Hotel Cafe concept is a fantastic idea which manages to highlight artists you may (or may not) like while never staying still ( Read more... )

We drove up to Edinburgh yesterday. It's a beautiful drive full of desolate winding roads, and at this time of year the countryside is intensely autumnal. I've never seen so many shades of orange ( Read more... )

I'm really enjoying Tom McRae's new album King of Cards. I've spent the best part of the last few days with fragments of its tunes slipping in and out of my head ( Read more... )

I'm addicted to Tom McRae. It started small - just the first album. Okay, strike that, it started big - just the first album. I liked it after one listen, loved it after two, then we put it on repeat play in the car and never looked back. I'm expecting the album's third child shortly.

( What's got me hooked... )