Mull Historical Society is the musical project of Colin McIntyre who releases his latest album ‘In My Mind There’s A Room’ this month which had an interesting concept. Colin`s grandparent’s home of forty plus years on Tobermory seafront on the Isle of Mull, was transformed into a recording studio. His grandfather Angus was the Scottish poet, and bank manager of Mull and the sitting room saw many ceilidhs, gatherings and evenings of outlandish storytelling, with locals as well as visiting film stars. It’s been twenty years since Colin last stepped foot in that room but the times spent there, and the people who passed through have been his greatest inspiration so the singer decided to reach out to some of his favourite writers, to ask if they would write twenty-five lines or so on a significant room to them
The album opens with `Not Enough Sorry` with words from Jennifer Clement and it`s an uplifting quite captivating slice of melodic pop although the lyrics seem to tell of a relationship where one participant seems to need more than is given with the room being a kind of metaphor or beacon for the renewal of their romance. We have lyrics supplied by poet Liz Lochhead on `1952` and they seem to refer to a child`s memory of acquiring their own room in a newly acquired house. The music has a certain retro style and does conjure up this early formative recollection.
`Wake Up Sally` has a punchy but quite tormented feel with words from Alan Warner that may well be about a traumatic time which spurs the participant to where they now are in life. Stephen Kelman`s lyrics to `The Red Flame Diner` are fairly surreal and the musical accompaniment pretty stripped back and almost melancholic on this tale of a café that`s the focal point of a romance played out in the city that never sleeps.
Nick Hornby supplies the words to `Panicked Feathers` which ruminates on a room that was the centre of so much activity in teenage years, but the narrator can only remember birds, the featured variety these days. The song is delightfully punchy with a kind of new wave punk attitude which brought to mind early Elvis Costello. Childhood reminiscences again feature on ‘Kelshabeg’ with lyrics from Irish novelist Sebastian Barry and seem to be about visits to relatives in Kelshabeg a town land in County Wicklow. It`s a wonderfully eclectic listen which has a kind of music hall reverie with operatic snippets midway and closing out with dreamy flowing tones with a spoken word segment shared atop.
The deeply introspective `Somebody Else`s Life` was written by Jacqueline Wilson and recalls the distress she felt when, as a young woman, she moved to Dundee to start her first job at DC Thompson, the struggle to find a room and the solace it brought when she eventually did: her first “Writer’s Room”. The barren stripped soundscape of piano and vocals really reflects the anxiety and apprehension of this teenager in a new and alien environment. One of my own favourite writers Ian Rankin scripts `My Bedroom Was My Rocket` another nostalgic reflection on formative years that shaped this author. It`s a catchy indie, rock, pop offering with some enjoyable melodic hooks.
`Seeds` authored by James Robertson is not only eclectic lyrically but also musically. A rather jazzy stop start affair with lines that are shared as if it`s a race to ensure they are heard. There`s some pleasant sax tones sprinkled throughout in the latter part of the number. Jackie Kay writes of a cabin her new adoptive parents took her to as a child, the first place she felt safe and loved in `Meltwater`. The music applied mirrors a place of safe keeping and well-being where a community gather to support.
Jason Mott `s lyrics are full of ghostly visions on `All Empty Rooms Must Be Mourned` and with predominantly piano and vocals translating them there have a further spectral texture. Val McDermid supplies the text to `Room Of Masks` which tells of the simple pleasure found in looking out of a room at the scene outside and finding something joyful to behold. Colin`s vocals echo the reflective bliss found within the descriptive passages.
Liz Lochhead is called on again in `Anaglypta` and shares a spoken word account of youthful memories that involve not only the recollections of paintable textured wallcoverings. At times it feels as if it’s a kind of stream of consciousness shared over a distant piano. Her Lanarkshire dialect adds a further sense of poignancy to this delightful and descriptive childhood reminiscence. The album closes with `Memories Of Mull` written and spoken by Angus McIntyre, Colin`s grandfather. An apt and stirring conclusion.
I really enjoyed ‘In My Mind There’s A Room’ and have to applaud the concept from which it was created, which I have to say worked better on some songs than others. a pleasurable listen that I’m sure you`ll find much to enjoy as well.
Rating 8.5 / 10
