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It’s now over a decade since Hebridean one-man band Colin McIntyre
first shared his no holds barred, joyously quirky epic pop with the
wider UK population. Taking his moniker from a group of genealogical
enthusiasts on his home island (who have since, perhaps not
unsurprisingly, re-branded themselves as the Mull Historical and
Archaeological Society) the multi-instrumentalist made an immediate
impact with his 2001 debut album Loss, an effortlessly catchy
collection of idiosyncratic, richly detailed songs that remains one of
the most likeable records of its time.
Ten years and more on, and things haven’t quite panned out as
MacIntyre and his admirers envisaged. Second album Us maybe took the
everything but the kitchen sink approach to arrangements a little too
far and suffered accordingly, while 2004’s This Is Hope sank without
trace. Following this setback, the Society was disbanded as MacIntyre
opted to record more conventional singer-songwriter material under his
own name, but the two resulting releases, 2008’s The Water and the
following year’s The Island, were greeted by widespread indifference.
Dusted down and with his spirits seemingly revived, MacIntyre has
taken the decision to go back to the tried and tested formula – and
the band name – that first brought him success. By and large, City
Awakenings vindicates his choice.
On a new label and produced by Dom Morley, who can boast household
names including Mark Ronson and the late Amy Winehouse
on his CV, the Society sound sleek and confident here, with much of
the wide-eyed enthusiasm of their early work restored. While the
songs here admittedly aren’t quite as memorable as perennial
favourites from Lost, like Watching Xanadu and Paper Houses, they’re
very much cut from the same cloth and perfectly pitched to find favour
with those fans of classic pop that flocked to Macintyre’s banner when
he first emerged.
The album is dedicated to London, New York and Glasgow (apparently
the cities Mull’s main man finds most inspiring) and aims to reflect
on how people from remote communities integrate into metropolitan
life, a concept that gives its creator plenty of scope to indulge some
of his more eccentric lyrical observations. But it’s MacIntyre’s ear
for a tune that really stands out. His penchant for tweeness and
occasionally over-egged dynamics still hasn’t gone away, but if it’s a
soaring chorus you’re after, he rarely fails to deliver.
Opener Must You Make Eyes At Me Now is a case in point. Built
around an acoustic guitar jangle and MacIntyre’s yearning vocal, it
builds irresistibly to a crescendo propelled by lashings of timpani,
brass and who knows what else as the exiled islander struggles to
adapt to his new city home. Yet by third track The Lights he seems
intoxicated by the allure of its energy and excitement, singing
joyously “we drove to the lights where people were living… I like the
lights, I like the lights”, even referencing Starship’s We
Built This City as the soundtrack to his journey.
Like other Mull Historical Society records, City Awakenings can
sometimes feel like one long, relentless sugar rush, but welcome
respite is provided by gentler, mellower songs likes Fold Out City and
closing number Thameslink (London’s Burning), the latter first
performed by MacIntyre at his father’s funeral. The only real bum note
here is the charmless glam rock of Honey Pie in what is overall a most
enjoyable return to form from The Mull Historical Society. Whether it
enables MacIntyre to finally fulfil the commercial potential he hinted
at on Lost is another matter, but it’s splendid to have him back.
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