One Man And His Songs

You couldn't accuse singer-songwriter Tom McRae of being flippant or shallow in his approach to his art. His self-titled debut album is chock-full of observations on life, death, destiny and revenge not untypical concerns for the average twenty-something male. Add to that his potent, impassioned vocals on songs like 'End Of The World News', 'Bloodless' and 'Sao Paolo Rain' and the result is a heavy, dense, though ultimately rewarding, work.

"It's in my nature to get angry, frustrated and depressed and those things come out in the music," he explains. "There's so much obsession these days with people having fun, going out for a good time and having a laugh. That's great as far as it goes, but you've got to go home and get up for work in the morning and do other things. I've got a sense of humour, but I've also got a sense of responsibility. The album is quite melancholy but it's also quite hopeful."
The fact that he grew up in a small, isolated village in Suffolk may well have something to do with his bleak perspective.
"It was a half-horse town," he says "Very isolated, literally miles from anywhere. Your nearest friend was a 20-minute bike ride away and you had to hitch to the nearest pub on a Friday night. I am a bit of a loner to the point of almost being anti-social. But if you can live with your own company then you find other things to do and your imagination takes flight."
McCrae's father happened to be the local Vicar. "It was a very strict household," he explains. "I wasn't allowed to watch ITV, I think my parents thought the adverts were vulgar! And I was made to go to church two or three times on Sunday and sing in the choir.
"It does a lot of damage. You start to ask questions and it's left me with a distaste for organised religion. I've come to terms with it now, but I wouldn't describe us as a close family. We get on and respect each other's lifestyle choices."
Not surprisingly McRae turned to music for escape, though rather than plumping for something bright, breezy and upbeat as you might expect, his tastes tended to reflect his surroundings. "I got into early Paul Simon, Joan Armatrading and especially Springsteen," he explains. "Springsteen's Nebraska was the thing. I really liked the raw, emotional texture of those songs. The Ghost of Tom Joad is a fantastic album too. I also got into Billy Bragg a few years ago. Just one guy standing up there with a guitar singing songs. It was emotional and he meant it it had a real impact on me."
He picked up a guitar and started playing the odd gig locally but bigger things beckoned. With only a clutch of home demos under his belt McCrae moved to London where he scored a deal with db Records. "So far I've had a free hand to do what I want to, but the more you go on, the more pressure you feel to be a commercial success. But people can smell hype and they know if there's money being spent on you."
He has also had to contend with the inevitable comparisons with some of the current crop of earnest male singer/songwriters doing the rounds.
"I get constantly asked whether I see myself in the same vein as Badly Drawn Boy or David Gray. It seems if you're a white guy who stands up onstage with a guitar you're either Bob Dylan, Jeff Buckley or David Gray.
"The singer songwriter thing seems to be a dreaded albatross for anyone to carry these days. People think you're self righteous, wordy, boring. It seems to be easier to get away with if you're in a band. But all I'm asking is that people be patient and get into the album."

Tom McRae is released on db Records