Eugene McGuinness - The Early Learnings Of... (Double Six)
4/5
By: Michael Cragg
Naming your debut album 'The Early Learnings of...' automatically puts in mind a kind of self-obsessed, usually American 'soul' singer. I'm thinking namely of Alicia Keys or Lauryn Hill, artists striving to be taken very seriously indeed. It lacks humility and shouts 'LISTEN TO WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH'. Luckily, bad title choice aside, Eugene McGuinness' debut is an idiosyncratic, pop-fuelled gem, full of memorable lyrics and even more memorable melodies.
Recent single 'Monsters Under The Bed' is a definite highlight, McGuinness musing on his lack of energy, blaming that very English influence, the weather ("my will to move or even use my brain/ is weathered by eternal English rain"). Ironically, given the lyrical stupor, the music bounds around with the energy of a puppy, all treated hand-claps and keyboard flurries, calling to mind 'Gallowsbird's Bark'-era Fiery Furnaces in its playfulness.
'Vampire Casino' and 'Madeleine', meanwhile, are more sombre affairs, with McGuinness restrained vocal mournfully dissecting a relationship over minimal guitar and piano respectively. Mostly though McGuinness enjoys focusing on the mundane, the everyday, either through perfectly depicting wasted student days ('Monster Under My Bed'), or by describing some of the 'sights' at his local supermarket in 'A Child Lost In Tesco'; "I'm staring at a woman's face/ so young, but weathered, dead, with fake-tan/ heavy earrings dangle with no grace/ and she's pushing an empty pram".
McGuinness may have yet to find a completely distinctive sound, but he certainly seems to be having fun working out which one works best. 'Vela' calls to mind the lush harmonies of The Beach Boys and it's a sound that suits him well, his brilliant voice revealing more with each listen. At a time when every man with a guitar is lauded as the new this or that, it's refreshing to find a young talent whose aim is to sit apart from everything else that's going on. He just needs to work on those damn album titles a bit more.
Stream three tracks from 'The Early Learnings Of...' HERE.
Artists in this article: Eugene McGuinness
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