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Paul McLaney: The Shadows of the Birds Flying Fall Slowly Down the Building

The title alone evokes picturesque imagery on this, the latest album from Paul McLaney, aka Gramsci, a name borrowed from an Italian political philosopher. Something that immediately attracts attention from the liner notes was that it was recorded at the illustrious Abbey Road studios, and engineered by Phil Brown, who's CV includes Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley and Mark Hollis. McLaney has journeyed through several musical collaborations before returning to the simplicity of the singer-songwriter craft in its purest form of just guitar and voice. His beliefs that a good song will stand on its merits, even its most basic form, is demonstrated by an album performed live (in studio) without overdubs. The songs are ultra-mellow, with beautifully played guitar and a vocal style that is totally appropriate to the genre. To me, this is an aural equivalent to the solitude of a stormy mid-winter West Coast beach. McLaney demonstrates something of an eclectic turn of phrase with his use of words, matched by equally innovative chord structures. In contrast to its title, this is not a long album - just 26 minutes in total, but serves as a great expression of the beauty of simplicity. Distributed by BMG Records.

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