Richard McGraw is
a singer-songwriter in
the way that I like.
Anxious, nervous and a
little disturbed
sounding. All these
songs were recorded with
his band in the space of
one weekend. I like his
style, as the
limitations of such a
fast recording has done
everything to capture
the energy levels, which
for a largely acoustic
based album are near
through the roof. When a
distorted guitar breaks
through on fourth track
‘Death is Not Peace’
it’s like a glass
against the wall at an
uncomfortable dinner.
Vocally McGraw is a
blend of Bonnie ‘Prince’
Billy, Bryan Ferry and
Violent Femmes’ Gordon
Gano. In fact Violent
Femmes is a very fair
reference point as like
the Femmes, this is
acoustic music with
energy and also
lyrically it shares
Gano’s penchant for
sounding well, anxious,
nervous and a little
disturbed sounding.
Lyrically McGraw is
frequently exceptional.
He covers inadequacy,
(“I didn’t make out
brother, till I was
fucking 99”), mortality,
(“This is how I’m going
to die in a bedroom all
on my own”) and the
solitude and loneliness
of a failed career as a
musician, (“You’re at
home with all your needs
in the basement of your
Mother, keeping quiet so
she can sleep. Of all of
those dreams one could
choose, there’s one that
will place you on
display if you lose.
Find yourself there,
long-haired, 45, rockin
out the county fayre”).
It’s safe to say, just
like Jarvis Cocker,
Richard McGraw is a man
well acquainted with
‘The Fear’. He’s also
well acquainted with
what it takes to make a
great record. Whether he
ends up at in his
Mother’s basement is up
to you, but if this is
what it takes to get
precisely nowhere then
we might as well turn
the lights out now.
www.richardmcgraw.com
www.myspace.com/richardmcgraw
