The Mull Historical Society is, essentially, just one man� and that man is erstwhile genius Colin MacIntyre, who plays most of the instruments on every last one of the 14 Alt.-pop-perfect tracks, as well as being the brains behind every last lyric and melody therein this truly brilliant album. Oh, and as if that wasn�t hell of a workload as it was, he self-produced these frankly beautiful and sublimely mellow songs, and designed the artwork.
�Us� is the follow-up to Colin�s/ Mull�s debut album �Loss,� and nothing has changed in style or tone from the first timeless-sounding release.
Actually hailing from the homely, lonely Isle of Mull (that braces itself off the West Coast of Scotland), Colin�s distinctive accent is elementary throughout, dear Watson. And by God, this is �pop� music as it should be, blessed with an epic �lo-fi� approach that draws subtle comparisons to the sweetness in Grandaddy�s music.
Opened with the catchy �Final Arrears,� come �Oh Mother� it becomes apparent that Colin here must be envious of mega-star Chris Martin, for Colin�s sensitivity and the way he harnesses his emotions and ideas into tangibly affecting songs results in an album of songs that are just as inspired as anything Coldplay have produced.
Melancholia raggedly runs for the entire 60 minutes but never do you feel depressed, the quirkily sad �Asylum� boosted by the lyric �I�d lend you mind but I�m crazy.�
�Live Like The Automatics� is one of the most upbeat tracks and catapulted forth with a wicked guitar chug, while �Don�t Take Your Love Away� tends to David Gray-strained and chilled-out musical stylings. The most intriguing track is coincidentally the most �lo-fi� by nature, entitled �Her Is You� and that simplistically consists of just Colin�s vocal, a trickle of piano, a riff of guitar and a tape loop. Elsewhere on the album, Colin toys around with vibraphones, bell trees and Dictaphones.
�5 More Minutes,� though is the stand-out track, that�s sweetly dedicated to the living memory of his dad. Magic and tender, it�s the most appropriate summation of another extraordinary set of songs from a true songwriting genius.
7/10 Steve Rudd
www.mullhistoricalsociety.com