Eugene McGuinness - Eugene McGuinness Review
Posted by Cory Johnson on 07.11.2009
Forget whatever it is you think of when you hear "critically acclaimed singer-songwriter."
Hello and welcome to the first ever McGuffin album review. For the majority that don't know me, I usually contribute to the die hard 411 Movies and TV reviews section. Special thanks to Mitch and Ashish for allowing me the opportunity to expand my horizons. I'm starting off with someone I had never heard of before getting this album to review, so let's get right to it...
History
Eugene McGuinness is a British (by way of Liverpool, London, and Ireland) singer-songwriter who almost chased a career in fine arts before turning to music. McGuinness released his fist album, The Early Learnings of Eugene McGuinness, featuring the single "Monsters Under the Bed", in 2007 to critical fanfare but limited commercial success. His second album, Eugene McGuinness is his first US release.
Tracks
1. Rings Around Rosa
2. Fonz
3. Wendy Wonders
4. Moscow State Circus
5. Those Old Black and White Movies Were True
6. Nightshift
7. Atlas
8. Knock Down Ginger
9. Crown the Clown
10. Not So Academic
11. Disneyfied
12. God in Space
“Rings Around Rosa” is an incredibly catchy rockabilly song. The Bo-Diddley guitar groove just drives this song. This song is destined to end up as the opening credits song on an indy movie someday.
“Fonz” is the first single off the album and it is a strange track. Irritating at first, especially the strange falsetto during the bridge and the over-repeated coda, but it does reward repeated listening. It also has a great lyric “we synchronized our watches…for the meeting of our crotches”. It takes an incredible sense of charm to pull that line off. Not for everyone’s taste, but if you like this, the album will work for you.
“Wendy Wonders” is an interesting ode to a man’s inability to say “I love you” at the cost of losing his relationship. The first slower song on the album, it showcases McGuinness’ ability to play with words. The music is very laid back and reminds me of the repeating song from “There’s Something About Mary””.
“Moscow State Circus” is one of the longest tracks on the album, clocking in at over four and a half minutes. Unfortunately, the extra time doesn’t do the song any favors, as the last two minutes are boring and repetitive. The first half of the song was pleasant enough, but the lyrics were too clever or too British to make sense.
“Those Old Black and White Movies Were True” has a lazy, dreamy atmosphere over a broadway melody. The way that McGuiness warbles through this 40's/50's style ballad is almost unbearable.
“Nightshift” picks the pace way up, sounding like country-fried punk, but even with the undeniable beat, this song gets weary in a hurry.
“Atlas” is a great song, sounding like a well-updated Talking Heads pop song. McGuinness does some amazing alliteration with the lyrics, making the listener want to sing along. Good stuff.
“Knock Down Ginger” is a rambling folk-style song. The toy piano adds a little novelty, but the song is mostly middle of the road, with nothing very memorable about it. It just kinds of exists for a little while, fading in and then fading out.
“Crown the Clown” is a really interesting song, featuring more experimentation and time signatures than the rest of the album. The inclusion of keyboards and distorted vocals over the off-tempo beat pays off and works really well with the lyrics.
“Not So Academic” has a good little country shuffle going. It’s simple, straightforward, pleasant and the sing along anthem of the album. I could see this covered or remixed at some point and turned into a hit, but only because I can’t imagine where they could get this song played, and it just missing a little something that holds it back.
“Disneyfied “is the first song on the album that truly sounds like it features a full band and judging by this song, I hope that this is the direction that McGuinness moves towards in the future, because the sound really fits the song. The song itself is catchy and very close to straight forward rock featuring some interesting bridges and tempo changes.
“God in Space” is a slow, bluesy ballad that borders on a lullaby (well, a warped lullaby about Eve’s fall). A good closer that needed to fade out a little sooner, as the "la la la’s" got very weary at the end.
Analysis
The biggest thing that jumps out about this album is McGuinness’ gift for phrasing and some serious lyrical talent. His lyrics jump from lovelorn and desperate to sly and silly effortlessly. Regardless of the other qualities on this album, McGuinness is an artist to watch, as it will be interesting to see where his considerable poetic gifts grow from here. Even when the song doesn’t quite click, the words he crafts make the song worth listening to at least once.
His voice is high and light and fits his material very well for the most part, and while it is not the most distinctive voice, it does give his lyrics a chance to shine. His voice isn't perfectly suited for some of the ballads, but with the exception of "Those Old Black and White Movies Were True", he makes excellent use of his range on all of pop songs. His voice will be very divisive, very take it or leave it for most people.
McGuinness has a great sense of melody, even when he goes out of the way to shake them with weird vocal deliveries and irritating song structures. When he lets the melodies shine and reels back some of his over-dramatic elements, he is capable of producing some incredible songs. He blends his melodies together with country twang, punk rhythms, rockabilly, blues, classic balladry, and showtunes just to make sure that he isn’t pidgin holed in any easy category. As a curiosity, iTunes classifies him as “Alternative and Punk”. Whatever category he falls into, Eugene McGuinness is a good album announcing the arrival of a great lyricist.
Essential Ipod Songs
"Rings Around Rosa", "Atlas", and "Fonz"
Worth a Listen
"Disneyfied" "Not So Academic"
The Video for "Fonz"
The video for "Wendy Wonders"
Thanks for reading. As always, comments, feedback, suggestions, and emails appreciated. I will be returning later this week with my review of the new Chris Ayers album. Please check out my TRUE BLOOD reviews in the 411 Moview/TV section and don't forget to follow 411 on Twitter. This is Cory, keep listening.
The 411: An uneven debut from a major talent. McGuinness is seemingly willing to explore anything and it leads to an uneven finished product at times. When McGuinness gets experimental, the album drags, despite it's short running time. In this case, too much diversity prevents the album from being great, as there is too much ground to cover to do everything well. McGuinness shorter pop songs are almost undeniably catchy, and they are the highlights of the album, allowing McGuinness' melodies to mesh perfectly with his lyrics. Unfortunately, there just aren't enough of those high quality pop songs here. Eugene McGuinness should appeal to fans of The New Pornographers, Adam Ant, HelloGoodbye, Rufus Wainwright, and The Talking Heads. Eugene McGuinness is going to be an artist to watch as he expands the singer-songwriter genre.
