Tom McRae

Tom Mcrae's fourth album, 'King of Cards', was released earlier this year and was quite frankly, a disappointment. The voice was still there - that fragile, sensitive, choir-boy voice. However, it was worn down by a sub-standard wall of sound. Gone were the haunting melodies, the heart-breaking voice soars, the distortion of instruments over a backbone of memorable rhythms. Instead we had a man who seemed more upbeat, more intent in creating some foot-tapping, mid-tempo dirge rather than wanting to make your hairs stand on end. It sounded more like a Coldplay album than a Tom Mcrae album.

	"the likeable Mcrae charmed the audience with his tales of (possible) illegal activities at a previous Glasgow gig and also his new mug which fondly described him as 'wanky'"

And so I entered King Tut's with some caution. I knew the first three albums were fantastic and assumed the fourth had been a blip. But was this gig to be a recognition of his previous glory or was it to be a promotion of his new, weaker and duller work?

Thankfully, it was the former.

It wasn't a greatest hits set by any means – otherwise the string laden 'Karaoke Soul' or the dreamlike 'Girl Who Falls Downstairs' would have been included in the evening's music. However, the songs that were chosen were fan's songs – music that was known to be technically and melodically brilliant and not just something to hook an audience in to clap along to.

Having the delicate 'For the Restless' near the start of a set-list seemed a somewhat unusual choice but was all the better for it – surprising the audience and re-setting their expectations. 'End of the World News (Dose Me Up)' had the audience split into two (at Mr Mcrae's request) to chant separate lines from the song at the same time, reinforcing the darkness of the piece as two hundred people belted out the moody lyrics. Also, to begin an encore with a solo rendition of 'My Vampire Heart' was both unexpected and breathtaking, every audience member frozen by Mcrae's devastating tale of a love gone wrong.

In-between songs, the likeable Mcrae charmed the audience with his tales of (possible) illegal activities at a previous Glasgow gig and also his new mug which fondly described him as 'wanky'. These quips were the perfect antidote to songs of brooding intensity.

As for the band, we were treated to the bare minimum – guitar, piano and occasional stringed instruments. There was also the introduction of a beating bass drum to accentuate the more frantic parts of music. By stripping down his work all the unnecessary features had been removed. Even his new material sounded good as a result as there was no more blandness to distract from the basic core of the songs.

Hopefully this gig is a sign that Mcrae has learned from his mistakes. He clearly still knows how to write beautiful, well structured pieces. It's what he adds to them that can make them the wonders from his earlier albums or the background noise of his new one. Maybe next time he'll leave out the excess and leave us with the amazing core.

FUTURE GIGS