Tom McRae - Tom McRae > Reviews > The Boy With The Bubblegun Storms Home

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money

Advantages:	Originality, a beautiful voice and that gorgeous guitar
Disadvantages:	One or two less impressive songs

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

My first thought upon hearing the dying strains of Tom McRae's 'The Boy With The Bubblegun' in the car one afternoon as I drove home was - 'He sounds like James Taylor'. My second thought was - 'I need his album'.

I hadn't even heard the whole song - and, although it is certainly a great piece of melodic and lyric inspiration, Bubblegun is not the best song on the album. But nevertheless, I was captured immediately by McRae's gorgeous, clear, folky voice, the sheer originality and finesse of his lyrics, and the warmth of his acoustic guitar. After further consideration, it occurs to me that a better comparison might be drawn with Damien Rice, the only difference being that McRae, frankly, is better. His guitar riffs are similar, his folky sound is similar, but his voice is a thousand times purer and more accomplished. McRae is a delight to listen to.

It's difficult to believe that he produced this album at the age of only twenty-four. Where most modern popular songs confine themselves to safe subjects like love and the lack of it, McRae roams fearlessly over a variety of themes, in which war and the pity of war surfaces often, without ever being so blatant that it's disconcerting. There is nothing bland about McRae's acoustic style, given that it is punctuated often with various pieces of percussion and background sounds, but in truth, McRae does not need all that. It doesn't sound superfluous, but all that is really needed is his voice, his guitar, and his lyrics, so profound for one so young.

Of the tracks on this album, my favourites are probably 'The Boy With The Bubblegun', 'One More Mile', 'Bloodless', and 'Second Law'. McRae has not yet been recognised by the popular music mainstream, but don't let this put you off him. Don't let *anything* put you off him. As a British artist - who, refreshingly, sings in his own accent quite unashamedly - he is one of the best; a rising star. Long may he continue to rise.