Eugene McGuinness - Eugene McGuinness

EUGENE MCGUINNESS
Eugene McGuinness

If it doesn’t seem very long ago you were reading a review on bobbysix of Eugene McGuinness’ rough ‘n’ ready mini-album, The Early Learnings Of Eugene McGuinness, that’s because it wasn’t. It was only late June in fact. So it’s slightly surprising to already find his first full-length effort dropping onto my desk.

Clearly adhering to the notion of striking while the iron is hot, the Brit’s debut long-player follows on directly from the teaser he gave us earlier, with his songs once again gleefully blurring musical boundaries. Backed this time by a full band, his vocal is fascinating, at times it is has a Damon Albarn quality about it, elsewhere it’s a post-punk bark or a soaring falsetto.

Arrangements on Eugene McGuinness are busy and the songs are wordy, but rather than feeling cluttered, their exuberant nature is stirring. From the rockabilly of opener Rings Around Rosa, styles jump from skiffle through barbershop to psychedelic folk-pop. The standout track though is unquestionably the beautiful, crooning, Those Old Black And White Movies Were True. Sounding like it belongs in the 1930s, it is a song which proves that, for a 22-year-old, McGuinness is an incredibly mature songwriter.

As I said in my review of The Early Learnings…, McGuinness’ music may not be as instantly accessible as some of the beige fluff the radio forces upon us, but there is depth and wit to his romantic stories of modern life. Most impressive of all though, considering how he references so many musical styles, is that he still manages to create his own distinct sound.

Eugene McGuinness - The Early Learnings of Eugene McGuinness

Another British singer/songwriter? Isn’t the market already saturated with them? Maybe, but in a time when the likes of Blunt and Morrison are considered by some to be the height of musical talent, we should thank our lucky stars for artists like Eugene McGuinness.
The Liverpool-based 21-year-old’s debut is an intriguing, challenging combination of musical styles and instruments. His vocal is more Jamie T than James Blunt as he combines a jaunty bark with a wonderful, soaring falsetto yelp, and his brand of upbeat, sometimes psychedelic indie-folk-pop is played out to a cacophony of guitars, electronica, frenzied percussion, handclaps and piano.
Amid this giddying atmosphere, McGuinness tells worldly, poetic stories of modern-day life. He talks about insomnia-fuelled, late-night web surfing, about kids getting lost in supermarkets and about small-town, Burberry-clad yobs, yet manages to make it all sound strangely romantic, like the witty observations of Morrissey being delivered by The Pogues.
With so many albums nowadays sounding ultra-clean and radio-friendly to the point of being bereft of charm and character, this rough-and-ready record is a heartening listen. The Early Learnings… may not be perfect, nor is it instantly accessible, but it certainly bursts with honesty, invention and idiosyncrasies. Because its eight tracks are over in just 27 minutes, this is more of a mini-album than a full-blown long-player, but it certainly does enough to suggest that Eugene McGuinness has a very bright future ahead of him. Hopefully, his is a name you will be hearing plenty more of.