Misery Loves Company: The Cult Allure Of Tom McRae
Monday, 28 September 2015
Written by Simon Ramsay
When it comes to the world-weary troubadour, being an outsider fighting for recognition is pretty much a cast iron badge of authenticity. In which case Tom McRae – who has spent the last 15 years quietly forging a reputation as one of Britain's finest songwriters – is the bona-fide sheriff of the guitar-wielding posse.
At first glance it's a bloody mystery why McRae isn't a household name, until you recall what a bland, superficial decade the ‘00s were for commercial music. The lion's share of singer-songwriters who found fame during the post-millenial 'new acoustic' movement did so by delivering an unchallenging style that was deliberately, somewhat cynically, broad enough to titillate a mass audience.
Fearless exploration, controversial world views and gut wrenching confessionals were AWOL from their repertoires, and when intriguing artists did sneak through – Antony and The Johnsons, Rufus Wainwright, Damien Rice - their time in the spotlight was closer to the 15 minute variety.
McRae was always destined to walk a different path. Although nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize for his hypnotically dark, claustrophobic and vengeful debut in 2001, there was nothing about him that pandered to convention. A watered down hit machine he wasn't.
Like Bob Dylan, Nick Drake or Elliott Smith, McRae doesn't shy away from turmoil. Whether exploring the terrifying depths of his contradictory psyche and the brutality of true love, fuming about modern society’s empty vulgarity or slashing his lyrical blade in the direction of politicians, his is a voice of sincerity.
“Everything right now is about comfort and distraction rather than actually having to think. Although I’d hope to entertain on some level, I’d rather people felt uncomfortable than simply entertained,” he said at the time of his debut’s release.
There's a tongue-in-cheek joke between McRae and his fans that he's merely a misery guts who only writes depressing hymns. Although death's inescapable reach, the pain of ageing and life's cycle of cruelty fuels much of his writing, it masks the juxtaposition at the heart of his work.
McRae has a well-defined philosophical belief in how people, the world, relationships - and he himself - should function, while concurrently being aware of, and bitter about, the fact that reality can never fulfil those desires regardless of how hard he fights.
Such torment is brought to life with visceral, but economical poetry. Motifs of water, ghosts, knives and the meteorological might of storms recur, while his upbringing as the son of two vicars is never far behind. Sins, blood, devils and crosses also make repeated appearances.
He's also a gifted composer, comfortable delivering both naked laments and a textural palette of rich, explosive sounds to match his lyrical bite. McRae’s weapons of choice may be acoustic guitars, piano and the haunting contributions of cellist Oli Kraus, but he'll also throw in fiery orchestration, swathes of guitar feedback and restless rhythms to stir his narratives. And then there's his voice, like a spiteful choir boy with a glint in his eye. It's accessible, soulful and romantic, but simmers with a latent fury that dares you to turn your back.
Throw a dart at the McRae back catalogue and you'll pretty much hit a bullseye every time. The aforementioned debut is a great starting point, with Boy With The Bubblegun and Bloodless powerfully raw, Language Of Fools heartbreaking and You Cut Her Hair intensely unsettling.
'Just Like Blood' saw his compositional confidence growing, taking bruised and battered tales and marrying them to lush instrumentation. The string-powered Karaoke Soul tears into Tony Blair, You Only Disappear is a soaring slice of desperation and Mermaid Blues’ profound chords and bursts of emotion are astonishing.
More brilliance arrived courtesy of 'All Maps Welcome' in 2005, with could-have-been-hits-in-a-better-world The Girl Who Falls Downstairs and Packing For The Crash balanced by the slow-burning cinematic grace of Hummingbird and Border Song.
McRae's diverse palette was again evident in the raging whirlwind of mythic Americana that made up 'The Alphabet Of Hurricanes'. The melancholy of The Summer Of John Wayne and horn-propelled delta-drama Me And Stetson are a few of many highlights. That album's sequel-of-sorts, 2012's sparse and intimate 'From The Lowlands', featured moments of explicit honesty in All That's Gone, Lately's All I Know and epic album closer, Alphabet Of Hurricanes.
Only 2007’s 'King Of Cards’ disappoints. There, he went for the commercial jugular and lost himself in the process. There's still moments to savour with One Mississippi, Keep Your Picture Clear and Got A Suitcase, Got Regrets, but it didn't sell any better, and even McRae now admits to it being a well intentioned misstep.
Which brings us to 'Did I Sleep And Miss The Border?', which emerged earlier this year. McRae has never made the same album twice. His familiar trademarks endure, but there's a different feel to each record as his music evolves, like an organism finding ways to adapt and survive.
That said, this exceptional new effort – credited to Tom McRae and The Standing Band - sees him spreading his wings further than usual, channelling the sense-tingling menace of Nick Cave on a selection of folk laments that act as a metaphor for how he perceives contemporary society and its cut throat, heartless leaders.
One minute he's sneering at greedy crooks and inequality like a Dickensian reaper on the The High Life, the next letting rip at David Cameron on the attack dog march of We Are The Mark: “The salesman's smile hides a common thief. Blue blood bleeds just like anyone. We're coming for you.”
After years of pinballing between numerous record labels, he's released his last two efforts on his own Buzzard Tree Records, and consequently seems a little more content with his lot.
“It’s funny because, even five years ago someone like me would be considered a pretty tiny artist, somehow clinging on,” he told For The Restless in 2013. “Even, having been on a major label in the early days. But now the world is shifting and to have the live audience that I have in the numbers that I have around the world is…people would kill for that. So, yeah, I’ve been sustained by this audience that is not the biggest, but it’s the most loyal and generous and you know, I feel incredibly lucky.”
In an ideal world, the cream of the crop would rise to the top. Unfortunately, we're stuck in this reality. So it's heartening to know that great musicians can still cultivate a passionate following beneath the mainstream radar. And even McRae sees some optimism in that, so it must be true.
Tom McRae Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue September 29 2015 - GLASGOW King Tuts Wah Wah Hut
Wed September 30 2015 - MANCHESTER Ruby Lounge
Thu October 01 2015 - LONDON Islington Assembly Hall
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