Customer Reviews

Loss

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The whole thing about Scottish people being depressed is a myth. Mull Historical Society is a one man show starring Colin MacIntyre. It is a very fresh and truly interesting approach. Colin has played gigs with such acts like The Strokes and Travis. This is his debut album. It has a balance of songs from ridiculous to the sublime. It starts out with "Public Service Announcer" that is a "wake up" call out to anyone listening. Apparently Colin worked at BT which is the UK telephone company. "Watching Xanadu" is like a Beach Boys uptempo song about not being able to love. The next open-ended song "Instead" is where MacIntyre pulls out all the punches and even has a children's choir singing "Maybe I wasn't meant to be..." When I first saw this record it looked like some bad indie crap. Looking at the booklet it is like an old scrapbook which means to me that the songs need time to take in. It's the name "Mull Historical Society" that creates distance.

As you peel through the layers of Loss you realize that this is an emotionally deep and complex album. There's a fight against consumerism and corporations. There is sort of a Brian Wilson obsession on songs like "Watching Xanadu" and "This Is Not Who We Were." There is a loss and a sadness in the songs but it is more positive in the sense of the melancholy. Time passing and getting old is the loss. MacIntyre is like the Scottish Proust. These are big ideas recorded in a lo-fi way. "Only I" is similar to the stuff Ed Harcourt is doing. In "Animal Cannabus" he claims to be "hiding from the world." Later in the song "Mull Historical Society" MacIntyre sings "We need a new hall/To fill our membership of 2." Therefore this recording is a special relationship between him and you, the listener. At least we're not alone. This record is precious and it's like looking at one of those boxes by Joseph Cornell. Loss is an impressive debut.

I got this last year as a gift from a friend living in London and it blew me away--still does. The music sounds a bit like mid-60's Beach Boys, a bit like Radiohead, a bit like Super Furry Animals. It is great, witty, idiosyncratic, melodic pop, with lots of xylophones and bells. Check out the semi-hits "Barcode Bypass", "Animal Cannabus", or my favorite, "Paper Houses", and see what you thik.

Terrific release by these great West Scottish Lads!
You will find yourself repeating every word with Colin after just a few listens.Lovely and Fun Jangley acoustic Pop with Horns Strings and even a few background kitchen and Amusement park noises.
May I have another please! and sooooon

While its cover is one of the worst I've seen in some time, the music is quite delightful. The songs stick to you like scotch tape, especially Watching Xanadu and This Is Not Who We Were (a great tune to mull over as you consider how you got yourself into your current occupation).

All the way from the tiny island of Mull off the coast of Scotland comes Colin MacIntyre and his one man group The Mull Historical Society and on the basis of this c.d.,the local islanders are sure spoilt to have such a musical talent in their midst.A one man group which sort of mixes the best of Badly Drawn Boy and Beck to now give us a trio of these sort of artists.It's as diverse musically as Badly Drawn... and yet it has lots of the 'street cred' you'd associate with Beck.It's a pretty ambitious debut this c.d. as regards musical arrangements.He uses a vast array of diverse instruments-strings,brass,beels and lots of programmed keyboard effects.He also adds in local choirboys to give some of the vocals a fairly classical feel.Yet despite some of these grandiose arrangements this c.d. has a rather conventional sound to it also.In some ways it's like alt rock meeting with some almost poppy hooks and there are lots of really catchy tunes to excuse the pun 'mull' over.

Apart from the influences I listed earlier this c.d. seems to have a real west coast feel to it.It's sort of upbeat in a way good Beach Boys tracks sounded like.One listen to track 5 "This Is Not Who We Were" and you'll know what I mean.It even adds the extra ambition to sprinkle the percussion with a distinctly Carribean feel.This c.d. grabs your attention from the very first moments.The opening track is really brilliant-it starts off with piano and acoustic guitar and bits of samples that sound vaguely like the Chemical Brothers.The verses are good,the bridge is even better and the chorus is to die for-you won't hear many better opening tracks.The second track has a pretty poppy feel to it,so no wonder it was selected as a single.Given the right exposure this could be a huge hit.Despite it's popular sound it still has a distinct alternative feel to it.The 3rd track slows things down a good deal.He uses choirboys to give a really beautiful effect and a really rich sound to the track.The array of guitars used is also impressive from conventional acoustic and electric to a baritone guitar-all played by himself.The track sounds pretty melancholic as he sings "Hold on to lonliness".The 4th track is also a pretty slow affair-the sound is more akin to alt American rock and some effects you'd expect to hear from Mercury Rev or Grandaddy.

"Barcode Bypass" is the closest song in terms of the comparison I made with Badly Drawn Boy.If it had been on that c.d. it would undoubtedly been an album highlight.The only downside to this 7 minute track is the falsetto in the chorus which is pretty weak.It's one of those tracks where the verses and chorus far outweigh the chorus which is really low-key."Only I" is another grandiose ballad-pianos and a glorious brass section dominate the sound of this track..Things become more upbeat with track 8-once again the chorus has a west coast feel to it-a great track.There are at least 2 chorus' on this track-so it's pretty commercial.The next track "Strangeways Inside" has a darker and more atmostpheric feel to it-the opening moments sound quite strange.The next track which follows the name of the group is such a mixture so many sounds and influences-wah-wah guitar,acoustic,spacey electronica,brass and flute.It has a latino feel,a rock feel,a pop sound-all about an island off the coast of Scotland.The final track is quite an epic-going on for over 10 minutes it's the most difficult track,yet after plenty of listens it's a great track..Lyrically it repeats a common theme of animal welfare.One look at the video of "Watching Xanadu" you'll see where this guy is coming from.

This album was one of Q magazine's albums of the year-after a few listens you'll easily understand why.

What a CD! The songs are pop songs--verse, chorus, verse, almost no solos--with simple, direct melodies and lyrics and a wonderful sense of playfulness. "Loss" reminds me a bit of late 60's Beach Boys (e.g. Smiley Smile & Friends) with Colin as Brian. A more modern comparison might be Coldplay (though MHS is less dour, especially on this CD). Check out the opening track (Public Service Announcement), one of the British hits (Barcode Bypass, Watching Xanadu, Animal Cannabus), or try my favorie--Paper Houses.

This album truly is a pretty great find. Not quite sure if janglepop is the correct term for what Colin MacIntyre is playing for us. "Plinkpop" seems better. However he seems to do everything in this album 'his way' for better or for worse. If I had to describe it with only one word, none would be better than 'earnest'. Heck, one of his songs even has a boys choir in it.

The tracks that work the best are the ones that sweep you along into the melody. This includes "Watching Xanadu", "This Is Not Who We Were", and "Mull Historical Society". When the tempo slows down though, some problems pop up. A few songs can be tedious and slightly grating. It's like he's trying a little too hard to make his point. Case in point "Instead" and "Only I" are too plaintive. And I hate to say this but Colin's voice gets quite nasal when not controlled enough.

BUT the album is a very pleasant experience and the good songs hint at greatness. "This Is Not Who We Were" could be played nonstop and not get tiresome. It really touches an interesting theme that should be covered more, about how much we're judged by what we do for a living. I'd recommend it. Three and a half stars sounds fair.

sidenote: Indeed the artwork could have been better. It's a bit too, how do you say....Radiohead-ian.

'Loss' starts out sounding like Rufus Wainwright as the opening song mutates into something Supergrass would have been proud to call their own. Track two pays homage to the halcyon days of the Beach Boys, complete with tubular bells! It's uphill from there.
I really couldn't disagree more with Agen Schmitz about the accompanying art work. So much time and effort has gone into perfecting that sleeve. look again!

Mull Historical Society's first full length, Loss, is a strange collection of psychedelic whimsy. What does that mean exactly? Colin MacIntyre and Alan Malloy traffic in the bizarre scenarios of Super Furry Animals with the song sense of Badly Drawn Boy. Being Scottish, their whimsy has less wit than their British peers, yet their surrealistic touches are more organic. The protagonist of "Barcode Bypass" dreams of getting bigger, slower until his body manifests itself in the form of the drugs he feeds it. A love story ends with the singer's prospective girlfriend rejecting him because she's "Watching Xanadu". "Instead" exhorts the lovesick to "hang on to loneliness". In almost all 11 tracks, from "Public Service Announcer" to the epic closer "Paper Houses", people are looking for a way out - of what I can't be sure. Boredom? Suburbia? Technology? Alienation? They find their way, like art-damaged students before them (Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips), with art-rock time changes, pizzicato strings, and liberal doses of the theremin.