North of Dundee, but South of Elgin and Inverness, and West of Aberdeen; the good Lord decided to place Angus, and Angus created Kirriemuir. And Kirriemuir has given us Mark McCabe. And for that, we rejoice. This LP overwhelms me with sadness, in a very comforting way. I can’t help but think of Roddy Woomble’s solo work. Like Woomble, McCabe is harmoniously at one with Scotland and beautifully linked with the wider world too.
It’s not that sad things are happening to Mark, but that he fears they will; this work tells us regularly that the anticipation is worse than the realisation. Do bad things happen to us and cause a reaction, or do we live in a state of expectation, which then causes bad things to occur. In ‘Crutches’ he sings, “there are still times when fear reminds me who I am – leads me back through darkened doors”. The overarching theme of this recording is a melancholia that despite its regret and pain feels warm; it harks back to Hardy and Keats, as well as The Menzingers, Idlewild, Aereogramme.
Musically, this work has elements of the obvious Northern comparisons, but particularly when there is a more comprehensive band backing Mark, it’s hard not to hear The Waterboys. The factors are all there – significant string sections, no fear of putting the words to the forefront, and the big choruses of tunes like ‘Welcome Party’ and ‘The Time I Almost Killed Martin’. Furthermore, for what is essentially a gentle Scottish gent with an acoustic guitar, at times this LP really does rock pretty hard. ‘My Disguise Is Better Than Yours’ is Frightened Rabbit at their most exuberant.
McCabe tells us that “we were more secure as men back then than we ever are these days”, but this emphasises the irony of Mark’s concerns and lack of self belief, because this collection of songs is heartfelt, elegant and perfectly measured in the very best way.
JON CURTIS