Second album from alt-rock lyricist
"Salvation" is Jamie McCarthy’s second album; the difficult second album, if you will. His first, "Strange Town", was inspired by tragedy, and according to the blurb, "Salvation" is more introspective without being as serious. And listening to the opening tracks, it’s clear that he’s hit the nail on the head in that respect. Opener 'Call Me Crazy' is a bizarre, sometimes outright funny, take on wanting to kill someone (if there can be such a thing), and the obvious single. The album continues in the same vein, full of anthemic radio-friendly (well, with a bit of editing…) pop-rock and Americana.
The sense of humour and wry look at life winds its way right through the album, especially on tracks like 'Lucy On The Back Of The Bus' and 'R We Living' (which have riffs that are guaranteed to be rattling around your head forever). There’s something incredibly nineties about the whole feel of the album, not that it matters.
The whole album is full of lyric-heavy rhythm-based singalongs, and an abundance of possible singles, like 'Meant 4 Me'. McCarthy treads a fine line between acoustic singer-songwriters like James Morrison and particularly Jack Johnson, and harder-edged rockers and punks. There’s a neat little nod to the Stones’ dark magnum opus 'Sympathy For The Devil' in 'Sunshine Love Parade', reminding the listener firmly about "Strange Town" and the vein of darkness that runs throughout McCarthy’s work.
Apart from the dodgy abbreviations in the song titles, this is a well observed album from a musically free spirit, and benefits from not feeling the need to prove anything. It would be difficult to pin down a certain ‘type’ of person who would like this record; it just doesn’t work like that, so give it a listen and decide for yourself. But do get the album, and not a single, because you’d miss out on some of the kookier tracks, wherein McCarthy’s strengths as an observer of human nature lie. Cheeky, funny, dark, chilled, edgy… is there nothing this guy can’t work with? Apparently not. Probably won’t make a splash in the charts, but a worthwhile addition to the ‘cult appeal’ section of your record collection.