Everything You See - Runrig

Everything You See is the fourth album from Runrig since lead singer Bruce Guthro joined, and it's a cracker. I've loved Runrig all my life (since before I was born, but that's another story!), my favourites are from the 80s/early 90s, but this is also one of my favourites. The cover art is brilliant, featuring a shinty player, a very Scottish image. In fact my parents identified the pitch in the Highlands that he is playing on, but I can't remember ...
...what they've done over the last 10 years), but Everything You See really is a return to form, even though their sound has of course evolved.

I'd strongly recommend this album, and Runrig in general, to anyone, young or old, as it is just good music.   ... more

Everything You See is the fourth album from Runrig since lead singer Bruce Guthro joined, and it's a cracker. I've loved Runrig all my life (since before I was born, but that's another story!), my favourites are from the 80s/early 90s, but this is also one of my favourites. The cover art is brilliant, featuring a shinty player, a very Scottish image. In fact my parents identified the pitch in the Highlands that he is playing on, but I can't remember where it is!

Everything You See continues the sound that Runrig have been evolving since Guthro joined, in particular the sound is similar to that of The Stamping Ground. It is an interesting mixture of folk and rock sounds, and the Scottish influences are clear. They still have their guitars and drums, but they use them in a much more folky style than they did in their "rock" period of the late 80s/early 90s.

The album opens with the excellent Year of the Flood. The first thing you hear, before the band joins is, is Bruce Guthro singing "Can anyone explain?", and it grabs your attention immediately. The song is upbeat, and is a perfect way to open the album as it really gets you keen to hear the rest, and gives a taste of what is to come.

I struggle to decide which is my favourite song from this album, but I think my favourite lyrics are in Clash of the Ash. Lyric-wise, this is a rather fun song for Runrig. It is about shinty (hence the shinty player on the cover...) and tells us about a match, from the journey there to describing the play and the sounds of the game (the clash is the noise of the sticks at the start of the game). The song ends with a little reflection on the sport and its origins. It's another upbeat song, and really good fun to listen to.

A slower song, and an incredibly beautiful one, is And The Accordians Played. The lyrics are about memories of a beautiful place and a past love (or that's how I hear it - it could be a present love!). Bruce Guthro's voice is perfect, and the songwriting talent is clear to hear. The instrumentation is haunting but very full, it is not a bare song, it's full of music. This song was loved so much by Runrig fans that petitions were started to have the band play it at their live shows!

One thing I'm not so keen on about this album, and this goes for most of their more recent albums, is the lack of Gaelic language songs. Runrig were famous as the first band accepted into the mainstream for their use of the Gaelic language, and a lot of their Gaelic songs are fan favourites (Alba, or the ones which feature English and Gaelic such as Skye and 'S tu mo leannan/Nightfall on Marsco) and in fact one of their biggest chart hits was in Gaelic (An Ubhal As Airde - The Highest Apple). Although their albums as the years went on started to feature less Gaelic songs, it is more pronounced since Guthro joined - as I understand he is not a native speaker. I would prefer more Gaelic songs, but this doesn't detract from what is on the album.

These are just a few highlights and my personal favourites from the album, but every single song is fantastic, and this is a brilliant album. Since Runrig's much loved previous singer left, I've felt they haven't produced consistently brilliant albums like they did previously (not that I dislike what they've done over the last 10 years), but Everything You See really is a return to form, even though their sound has of course evolved.

I'd strongly recommend this album, and Runrig in general, to anyone, young or old, as it is just good music.  

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