Loss

Loss Artist: Mull Historical Society
Label: Xl Recordings
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Format: Enhanced
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 607618502720
EAN: 0607618502720
ASIN: B000066703


Release Date: 2002-05-07

Loss


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Categories | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Indie Rock Indie Rock
Categories | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
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Neo-Psychedelia Neo-Psychedelia
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Categories | Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

  1. Public Service Announcer
  2. Watching Xanadu
  3. Instead
  4. I Tried
  5. This Is Not Who We Were
  6. Barcode Bypass
  7. Only I
  8. Animal Cannabus
  9. Strangeways Inside
  10. Mull Historical Society
  11. Paper Houses

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Amazon.com

Like their British indie peers Clearlake and Belle and Sebastian, Mull Historical Society seem to live in a hermetically sealed world where reality is glimpsed only through a filter of fanciful fantasy. The band is named after a genuine society dedicated to the preservation of tradition on their home island--the Isle of Mull, in the Inner Hebrides--and are a familiarly twee Scottish band. A mere duo, consisting of frontman and songwriter Colin MacIntyre and bassist Alan Malloy, their sound is bolstered on this debut with a jumble-sale of queer, quirky little touches: an alarm bell ringing in the background of "Public Service Announcer"; a children's choir accompanying the whimsical, gently unfolding "Instead"; and a mixture of samples, electronics, and imaginatively utilized household instruments that billow out of this record's numerous nooks and crannies. If you can hack MacIntyre's occasional simpering tone, songs like "Barcode Bypass" (the tragic tale of the closing of the local corner shop) or "I Tried" (heartbreak, rendered as a chugging, theremin-accompanied indie-rock anthem) offer a world so pure, so untainted, it's got to be worth a visit. <I>--Louis Pattison</I>

Album Description

2001 album for Scottish indie-pop act with enhanced live acoustic performance added. The 2000 single 'Barcode Bypass' was named Debut Single of the Year by NME. Described as sounding like, 'it was recorded by some illegitimate, hybrid amalgamation of Babybird, Electric Light Orchestra, the Divine Comedy & Supertramp' & 'an interesting, occasionally brilliant dose of modern British psychedelic pop'. 2002.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Total Genius.......2004-04-20

The whole thing about Scottish people being depressed is a myth. Mull Historical Society is a one man show starring Colin MacIntyre. It is a very fresh and truly interesting approach. Colin has played gigs with such acts like The Strokes and Travis. This is his debut album. It has a balance of songs from ridiculous to the sublime. It starts out with "Public Service Announcer" that is a "wake up" call out to anyone listening. Apparently Colin worked at BT which is the UK telephone company. "Watching Xanadu" is like a Beach Boys uptempo song about not being able to love. The next open-ended song "Instead" is where MacIntyre pulls out all the punches and even has a children's choir singing "Maybe I wasn't meant to be..." When I first saw this record it looked like some bad indie crap. Looking at the booklet it is like an old scrapbook which means to me that the songs need time to take in. It's the name "Mull Historical Society" that creates distance.

As you peel through the layers of Loss you realize that this is an emotionally deep and complex album. There's a fight against consumerism and corporations. There is sort of a Brian Wilson obsession on songs like "Watching Xanadu" and "This Is Not Who We Were." There is a loss and a sadness in the songs but it is more positive in the sense of the melancholy. Time passing and getting old is the loss. MacIntyre is like the Scottish Proust. These are big ideas recorded in a lo-fi way. "Only I" is similar to the stuff Ed Harcourt is doing. In "Animal Cannabus" he claims to be "hiding from the world." Later in the song "Mull Historical Society" MacIntyre sings "We need a new hall/To fill our membership of 2." Therefore this recording is a special relationship between him and you, the listener. At least we're not alone. This record is precious and it's like looking at one of those boxes by Joseph Cornell. Loss is an impressive debut.

5 out of 5 stars Magical! Fantastic!.......2003-08-08

What a CD! The songs are pop songs--verse, chorus, verse, almost no solos--with simple, direct melodies and lyrics and a wonderful sense of playfulness. "Loss" reminds me a bit of late 60's Beach Boys (e.g. Smiley Smile & Friends) with Colin as Brian. A more modern comparison might be Coldplay (though MHS is less dour, especially on this CD). Check out the opening track (Public Service Announcement), one of the British hits (Barcode Bypass, Watching Xanadu, Animal Cannabus), or try my favorie--Paper Houses.

5 out of 5 stars What a great CD!.......2002-12-14

I got this last year as a gift from a friend living in London and it blew me away--still does. The music sounds a bit like mid-60's Beach Boys, a bit like Radiohead, a bit like Super Furry Animals. It is great, witty, idiosyncratic, melodic pop, with lots of xylophones and bells. Check out the semi-hits "Barcode Bypass", "Animal Cannabus", or my favorite, "Paper Houses", and see what you thik.

3 out of 5 stars Loss is my gain.......2002-12-12

This album truly is a pretty great find. Not quite sure if janglepop is the correct term for what Colin MacIntyre is playing for us. "Plinkpop" seems better. However he seems to do everything in this album 'his way' for better or for worse. If I had to describe it with only one word, none would be better than 'earnest'. Heck, one of his songs even has a boys choir in it.

The tracks that work the best are the ones that sweep you along into the melody. This includes "Watching Xanadu", "This Is Not Who We Were", and "Mull Historical Society". When the tempo slows down though, some problems pop up. A few songs can be tedious and slightly grating. It's like he's trying a little too hard to make his point. Case in point "Instead" and "Only I" are too plaintive. And I hate to say this but Colin's voice gets quite nasal when not controlled enough.

BUT the album is a very pleasant experience and the good songs hint at greatness. "This Is Not Who We Were" could be played nonstop and not get tiresome. It really touches an interesting theme that should be covered more, about how much we're judged by what we do for a living. I'd recommend it. Three and a half stars sounds fair.

sidenote: Indeed the artwork could have been better. It's a bit too, how do you say....Radiohead-ian.

3 out of 5 stars

Music Album:

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  2. Outcast of the Islands ~ Colin Bass
  3. Fireproof ~ Pillar
  4. Winning Days, Pt. 1 ~ The Vines
  5. Songs About You ~ Language of Flowers
  6. Kiss It Goodbye ~ Chris Mills
  7. Live ~ Xavier Naidoo
  8. Slide on Live: Plugged in and Standing ~ Ron Wood
  9. Democracy ~ Killing Joke
  10. Icky Baby ~ The Intelligence

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