Here are five top facts about people in rock music called Colin:
1. Colin Blunstone sang in British 60s band the Zombies. 2. Colin Vearncombe, also known as Black, had one hit with 'Wonderful Life' in the late 80s. 3. Colin Moulding has been bassist in XTC for over 25 years. 4. Errr... 5. That's it.
But now there's good news for those of us campaigning for more Colins in popular music. Mull Historical Society (MHS), AKA Colin MacIntyre, first appeared just over two years ago to blanket critical acclaim. A couple of singles were followed by his debut album 'Loss'. A second opus entitled 'Us' is eagerly awaited (as of early 2003).
Brought up in Mull, and taking his potty nom-de-plume from a real local society, MacIntyre chose the 12 tracks here from an alleged backlog of 300 songs. He shares Badly Drawn Boy's taste for an off-the wall soubriquet. But there are further parallels: his ear for a catchy hook, a DIY ethic and a refusal to be tied to one musical genre.
The Colins mentioned above don't just have a name in common
with Mr MacIntyre. Vearncombe was another one-man band with a penchant for moody melody; Colin Blunstone was an early exponent of the airily tuneful British pop to which MHS owes a debt; and MHS's pastoral whimsy is a direct descendant of XTC's.
Elsewhere on this album, you hear hints of mavericks like fellow Scot Edwyn Collins or that other DIY pop genius Todd Rundgren. MacIntyre also has on his side a wide-ranging, expressive voice and a gift for melodies that can be uplifting or heartbreaking, often in the same song.
The tracks on 'Loss' include romping pop songs like the top 40 hit 'Watching Xanadu', 'Animal Canabus' and 'This is Not Who We Were'. Twinkling acoustic guitars and tubular bells join forces in 'Watching Xanadu' with wobbly 50's sci-fi synthesisers. An irresistible chorus makes this an absurdly jolly single, oddly in contrast to lyrics about homelessness and Olivia Newton John (or is it Coleridge?).
Elsewhere, ' Instead', 'I Tried', 'Barcode Bypass' and 'Only I' explore Colin's abiding themes of resignation, decay and decline, lifted by pretty guitar and xylophone arrangements. Like many of the songs, 'I Tried' features loopy electronic sounds. There's also a melodic quote from Bowie's 'Quicksand' before it builds to an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink crescendo. 'Only I' begins as a slow piano and accordian march of death and defeat, becoming oddly ecstatic in a bold triumphal fanfare of hope and release.
He's a fan of found sounds - tannoy announcements and lawnmowers crackle in the background, just like the opening track of Badly Drawn Boy's 'Have You Fed the Fish?'. In contrast to such wackiness, the lyrics mostly dwell on futility, giving up, and retreating from the world. But these are counterpointed by airy, acoustic arrangements with quirky synth fills, homely whistling and cheery backing vocals. The melancholy and sorrowful lament of 'Instead' gains additional grandeur from mournful cello and choirboy backing vocals. "Hold on to loneliness" runs the chorus, fading into another chaotic coda.
The rebellious message of 'Animal Canabus' - don't be force-fed by those who tell you what to wear and how to behave - is matched by its musical setting: a swinging pop anthem with electric guitars, tubular bells and fizzing synths. "I've retired to a better life" Colin sings. Another pretty, uplifting song 'Strangeways Inside', pairs twinkling xylophones and a euphoric chorus with lyrics which might be about mental illness, but equally might not be.
The closing song 'Paper Houses' quotes lines from other songs on the album, with musical hints of Buddy Holly, and ends with another announcer - this time from the Oban-Mull ferry. A final, 'hidden' track comprises a shambolic assortment of trumpets and keyboards and echoey drums. "I share my lies with you" he seems to be singing. Bonkers, absolutely bonkers.
As fictitious musical social groups go, Mull Historical Society deserves to be the 21st century's answer to the Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society or Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club. Just listen to its insanely jolly eponymous recruitment ditty, complete with steel drums and trumpets. This is one club you'd want to be invited to join.
Track listing:
1. Public Service Announcer 2. Watching Xanadu 3. Instead 4. I Tried 5. This is Not Who We Were 6. Barcode Bypass 7. Only I 8. Animal Canabus 9. Strangeways Inside 10. Mull Historical Society 11. Paper Houses 12. 'hidden' track
Plus CD-rom video tracks section featuring Colin doing solo acoustic versions of 'Barcode Bypass' and the lovely 'I tried'.
Great, great, great! More people need to buy MHS records, they light up your life! Good to see someone else who thinks the same, though I'm sure if people just exposed themselves a bit more it'd be the case for everyone -x-
andystrong 01.04.2003 16:18
This is the 3rd time I've read this op. So really I don't know why there wasn't a comment from me before. Yes, a great album but not as great as the current stuff!
tomhughes78 09.03.2003 12:45
Congrats on the diamond :) Definately well deserved, tom
Mull Historical Society seem to live in a hermetically-sealed world on Loss, like their ... more
indie peers Clearlake and Belle and Sebastian, where reality is glimpsed only through a filter of fanciful fantasy. Named after a genuine society, dedicated to the ...
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