With six tracks out of eleven on this offering, weighing in at thefour minute plus mark,McRae demonstrates ability toslowly and subtlybuild up emotion witha similarcraft and skillattributed to writerDylan Thomas. ‘ Silent Boulevard’ is a case in point and represents the liveliest piece on the album,featuring theFinn Bros spiced up with a droplet of Damien Rice type vocals,plus a clattering andclanging accompaniment that facilitates the graceful wrestle with the topic of thecruel nature of humanity. One thing stands out more than anything in subtle, slow and melodic offerings and that is the lyrics, especially when they are delivered with the soaring and compelling nature of the earnest Mr. McRae. Therousing chorus concealed within ‘The Girl Who Falls Downstairs’, aptly demonstrate the lyrical prowess that is on display on this album; “And I see myself turn into something else, turn into someone else for a while. And I know I might run into this night, running another dream to the ground.” With a crafted backing band that includes the cruising piano riffs of Olli Cunning; music, magic and imagination have a seductive soiree in the listener’s mind. ‘All Maps Welcome’ is one of the most polished and unpretentious offerings around lately, with Mcrae’stender touch having the ability to calm down even the likes of Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer. Check out one of Tom Mcrae’s live performances when he steps out on tour in support of Tori Amos in June June 2005 Thursday 2 Wolverhampton Civic Hall Friday 3 London Hammersmith Apollo Saturday 4 London Hammersmith Apollo Sunday 5 Manchester Apollo Tuesday 7 Glasgow Clyde Auditorium Wednesday 8 Newcastle City Hall Thursday 9 Nottingham Royal Centre Saturday 11 Rotterdam Ahoy Sunday 12 Brussels Forest National Wednesday 15 Copenhagen Vega (TBC) Thursday 16 Oslo Norwegian Wood (TBC) Friday 17 Sweden Hultsfred Festival(TBC) Sunday 19 Kolding Theatre (TBC) Monday 20 Hamburg StadtPark Tuesday 21 Berlin Tempodrom Thursday 23 Bonn MuseamSplatz Friday 24 Munich Philharmonie Tuesday 28 Frankfurt Alte Opera http://www.tommcrae.com David Adiar |