It's rare that a debut album from a young
songwriter attacks with the passion and bitter
experience found on the opening gambit from Tom
McRae. With a clutch of finely crafted tunes and a
potent, impassioned voice, McRae is an artist of
obvious awesome potential.
 

But don't take our word for it. When McRae's
eponymously titled debut album reached stores in
the UK in November 2000, it was met with an
overwhelmingly favourable response. Q magazine,
for instance, declared that "Tom McRae's star is
clearly rising on the strength of this debut, working its
magic over 13 songs of wonderful clarity and soul.
Mind-blowing stuff...".

The Guardian, meanwhile, claimed that "Tom
McRae is all set to shoulder his way to the
front of the queue- he suggests the primitive
terror once plumbed by Nick Drake." We
could continue, but you get the picture. Tom
McRae, seemingly from nowhere, had
 immediately captured the imagination.
 

Indeed, McRae ended the year in the Top 10
lists of such publications as The Observer,
The Independent, The Sunday Telegraph,
 The Times, Time Out and Q magazine. It
 was an extraordinary achievement,
signalling the arrival of a very special and
significant talent.

So what's it all about? Tom McRae is a singer-
songwriter, but that description hardly begins to properly
 locate the real essence of his music. As one critic
 recently suggested, McRae's snapshots of urban
 paranoia are hard, minutely crafted sculpted gems.
 

Or, as McRae states: "A lot of my music tends to be
 about cheating your destiny and changing what you are
 supposed to be. I think 90 per cent of people have a
 path dictated to them by history, and that was something
I was determined wouldn't happen to me."

McRae was brought up in a tiny village in Suffolk with a
 population of 250 people. "There weren't any pubs, but
there were two churches, which gives you an idea of
 what people's priorities were," he says. His parents split
 when he was eight and he went to live with his mother,
 who, like her ex-husband, was also a vicar.

"I thought for a long time that the way I wanted to live my
 life was totally removed from my parents, but I've kind of
 discovered that I've probably got more in common with
them than I thought. I think I share with my father the
 same desire to stand up on some sort of stage and
 preach to people. But whereas he wears a black dress
 and sings hymns, I use a guitar and my own music,"
 says McRae.

"I think we also share a feeling of dissatisfaction with the surface level that the world seems to run on. We're trying to find a sort of transcendence, to access those other levels. That's what I use my music for".

Living in Suffolk was a particular frustration for McRae, and getting to London - "to many people London is England, it's where everything happens" -became a consuming aim. "I hated the countryside. There was a particular feeling of isolation, that nothing was going on, you can waste away there. I looked for any opportunity to get to London, and took it as soon as I could," he says.

On arriving in London, McRae set about forming a band. A fortuitous meeting in a recording studio, however, radically changed the direction of his embryonic career. During a break in the band sessions, McRae played his home-recorded solo demos to the producer Roger Bechirian. He immediately recognised an extraordinary quality in McRae's work and offered to manage him. Away from the band context, McRae had the freedom to concentrate on his own personal themes.

"They're about the things that obsess me. Death, life, the fact that you have such a short time to actually achieve anything and that you've got this moment, now, to be who you're going to be," he says.

"Everything right now is about comfort and distraction rather than actually having to think. Although I'd hope to entertain onsome level, I'd rather people felt uncomfortable than simply entertained."

A deal with db Records soon followed. McRae made his debut with a single, You Cut Her Hair, released in September 2000. At the same time, McRae also started a series of low-profile gigs around London, honing his craft in a live context. They immediately attracted both media attention and a rising audience. The London Evening Standard even claimed that McRae was "an angel singing the devil's tunes."

And then came the Tom McRae album. It was a remarkable debut. Lyrically vivid and musically touching, there are themes of revenge and overtones of bitterness throughout, but it's McRae's real intent that's most striking.

You can make music without a reason, but it's just noise. But if you're trying to find out who you are it's easier to find out what you're against than what you're for," he says.

"A lot of the songs are about that. You do have some power, choices that you can make and while I'm not expecting to change people, you can tap into something that's already there and move people in the same way I'm trying to move myself."

McRae's music found a resonance far from his native England, proving the universality of his personal obsessions. By the start of 2001, for instance, McRae found himself a burgeoning star in France, while word was beginning to spread throughout the rest of Europe. Constant touring also cemented his reputation to the point where The Times newspaper claimed that "the problem with McRae is that he could become a very big star indeed."

Despite the popular and critical acclaim, however, McRae's music is still rooted in those personal passions that first fuelled his need to be a songwriter. McRae talks about those moments of clarity in life that are fleeting and difficult to put into words, and the aim is to try and access those emotions and feelings through the music. He's poured himself into this, you should take a closer look.

Album �Just Like Blood� : 3rd Feb 2003

Tom McRae releases his second album �Just Like Blood� through db Records on 3rd February 2003. Produced by Ben Hillier (Blur and Elbow) �Just Like Blood� is a wild and tender, eclectic, inventive, richly realised and hauntingly evocative work. The album delivers its craft in just 40 minutes and marks the development of an artist leagues above his contemporaries.

Tom McRae�s self-titled debut album, released in 2000, announced the arrival of a rare and singular new talent. It�s subsequent Mercury Prize and Brit nominations merely confirmed the insight and vision of Scott Walker, who had invited McRae to take part in his Meltdown Festival � before he�d even released a record. The album, of course, went on to figure in the end-of-year Top 10 lists of The Observer, Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Times, Independent, Time Out and Q.

�Just Like Blood� tracklisting:
1. A Day Like Today 6. Walking2Hawaii
2. You Only Disappear 7. Mermaid Blues
3. Ghost Of A Shark 8. Karaoke Soul
4. Stronger Than Dirt 9. Line Of Fire
5. Overthrown 10. Human Remains

�Just Like Blood� marks a huge step forward. In terms of sound, scope and style, it is a bigger, braver and possibly even darker work than its widely acclaimed predecessor. It feels contemporary, yet stands alone."The themes of the album are again dislocation and dissatisfaction and desire for escape," Tom explains, "but this time the desire is for escape post the point you�ve actually escaped."

He laughs. "Y�know, the same old bollocks. All gloom and doom and depression! It�s funny, the award nominations lead to a bunch of tabloid coverage. The Mirror said I was sort of like �the record you would hear at the worst student party from hell.� Which is one of my favourite quotes!" Sometimes, of course, the darkest songs can be the most uplifting. "Absolutely," he agrees. "It�s homeopathy. I think a little bit of what�s killing you is really important."

Quietly spoken, modest and engaging the 28 year-old McRae is a witty and perceptive, intelligent but uncompromising person."If someone says sum yourself in five words," he grins, "I go �angry, angry, angry, angry... and tired. That�s how it goes, and it�s getting more and more true. I think you get to a point where the angry young man could become the bitter old man, and I�m trying to navigate that path so I can become an angry old man. I think if you lose your anger then you�re just not paying attention."

Tom McRae is a remarkable person and �Just Like Blood� is a startling album. It opens with a wish and closes with a question. In between there is beauty and strength, deep dark doubt, mystery, hurt and hope.

McRae expands on a selection of tracks from �Just Like Blood�

�Karaoke Soul�
"Every aspect of our society and culture has now been reduced to a competition with pre-determined results, much like American elections. Pop music is an interactive soap opera, TV and newspapers are celebrity court circulars telling us what the new Kings and Queens of light entertainment are up to now. And chief Pop Idol himself, Tony Blair, learns a new dance routine every week, hoping we won't notice he's re-hashing the same old tunes. Yes it's all bright and breezy stuff that none of us should get too worked up about. After all, weren't The Monkees manufactured? Fuck off, you're a twat."

�Walking2Hawaii�
"Song written in major key shock! It's a pop song about sitting on a beautiful beach with your beautiful girlfriend thinking how beautiful everything is... and what a perfect place this would be to sit and watch World War III start...y'know... the usual cheery stuff."

�Ghost Of A Shark�
"Another London song really. Living here is like watching a loved-one die, not of old age, or gracefully decaying, but being literally kicked to death by a succession of government hooligans. One day, Tony Blair will get back from his day job as White House bidet and find that everyone's fucked off to Baghdad because the weather's better and the threat of being gassed is nothing compared to the Central Line at rush hour. It's also a song about living in Hackney and being scared of sharks."

"For me, a songs got to succeed in a way that no other art form can. It has to hit that transcendent moment. Thats what music is all about, getting that moment where you dont know why youre laughing or crying or dancing, but its nailed you and no-one knows how or what or why."

Tom McRaes self-titled debut album, released in 2000, announced the arrival of a rare and singular new talent. Its subsequent Mercury Prize and Brit nominations merely confirmed the insight and vision of Scott Walker, who had invited McRae to take part in his Meltdown Festival before hed even released a record. The album, of course, went on to figure in the end-of-year Top 10 lists of The Observer, Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Times, Independent, Time Out and Q.

The follow-up, Just Like Blood (release date: 3rd February 2003), has been neither rushed nor delayed for which credit should go to McRae for not being impatient, and db Records for appreciating the wisdom in nurturing not hyping such a talent.

"Sure, I think two and a half years is a long time between records," acknowledges McRae. "But the first album had a slow start before gradually snowballing, and then I spent the best part of two years playing all over Europe and America." Feeding off these experiences, just as London (the greatest city on earth) inspired much of the first record, so the small industrial towns of America and mad places in LA where its just insane were to prove a significant starting point for many of the new songs. "The idea of bands on the road who think its boring is ridiculous," says McRae. "Its just not. Its brilliant. But youve got to make it brilliant. Thats the challenge."
The new album Just Like Blood is worth the wait. It marks a huge step forward. In terms of sound, scope and style, it is a bigger, braver and possibly even darker work than its widely acclaimed predecessor. It feels contemporary, yet stands alone.

"The themes of the album are again dislocation and dissatisfaction and desire for escape," he explains, "but this time the desire is for escape post the point youve actually escaped. Youre somewhere different, but still thinking, Well, this still isnt right. What now?! Its about the idea of chasing stuff that is always out of reach, with the ground constantly shifting beneath your feet. Its about being uncertain, whilst at the same time being certain that youve got to keep going."

He laughs. "Yknow, the same old singer-songwriter bollocks. All gloom and doom and depression! Its funny, the Mercury nomination raised my profile to the extent where my name appeared in The Mirror. They said I was sort of like the record you would hear at the worst student party from hell. Which is one of my favourite quotes!" Sometimes, of course, the darkest songs can be the most uplifting. "Absolutely," he agrees. "Its homeopathy. I think a little bit of whats killing you is really important."

The new album is produced by Ben Hillier (Blur and Elbow). "I think Ive achieved what I set out to do," says McRae. "Which was essentially not to do what Id done before. I really wanted someone who would prod me out of my comfort zone and Ben was that person. Hes got a great approach to making music, which is, you start off with the basic idea and then just throw chaos at it and see what happens."

Just Like Blood is a wild and tender, eclectic, inventive, richly realised and hauntingly evocative work. "The cool thing for me about being solo is that I can shape shift," he explains. "I can do a solo thing with a guitar at one point, and that appeals to part of me, or I can get in strings and drums and use samples and be something else, and not be bound by a guitarist who wants to have a screaming solo or a drummer who wants to rock out all the time. I mean Im not like him at all, but I like the way David Bowie is solo but goes through different incarnations. I mean, Im not about to slap on make-up and come up with a whole new persona, but youre never quite sure what hes going to do from moment to moment, and I prefer that unpredictability."

Quietly spoken, modest and engaging, the 28 year-old McRae is a witty and perceptive, intelligent but uncompromising person. "If someone says sum yourself in five words," he grins, "I go angry, angry, angry, angry... and tired. Thats how it goes, and its getting more and more true. I think you get to a point where the angry young man could become the bitter old man, and Im trying to navigate that path so I can become an angry old man. I think if you lose your anger then youre just not paying attention."

Tom McRae is a remarkable person and Just Like Blood is a startling album. It opens with a wish and closes with a question. In between there is beauty and strength, deep dark doubt, mystery, hurt and hope. The albums title comes from a poem by Simon Armitage.Come clean, come good, repeat with me the punchline just like blood when those at the back rush forward to say how a little love goes a long long long way.