As anyone who reads these pages regularly knows by now, I am not
\na Bob Dylan fan. The man is a great writer, yes — he stands tall
\nas one of the true artists among 20th century lyricists. But I have
\nnever, ever been able to gain any real appreciation for either that
\nmumbly rasp of a voice or the distant, elusive persona behind
\nit.<\/p>\n
Which probably horrifies Fergus McCormick no end, but c’est la
\nvie.<\/p>\n
McCormick, a globe-trotting sometime expatriate now settled back
\nin New York, is a singer-songwriter whose genre of choice is
\nDylanesque Americana (or roots-rock if you like, or country-blues
\nthat occasionally borrows from early rock and roll, if you want to
\nbring it to a fine point). It’s not a choice often made these days,
\nbut it fits McCormick’s evocative, emotionally rich narratives and
\ngentle, lived-in voice like a glove.<\/p>\n
McCormick’s subjects are a vivid tapestry of partings, longings,
\nseductions and rejections that render in rich, earthy tones the
\nself-inflicted pains and superlative joys of a true romantic. The
\nopening title track sets the tone right away, a gentle parting shot
\nto a needy lover, sung in weary, hushed, Claptonesque tones over a
\ndreamy electric shuffle. McCormick’s keening, wordless cries over
\nthe swaying outro create an coda that’s both wistful and
\nwinning.<\/p>\n
The remainder of this fine disc finds McCormick illustrating his
\nflawed characters’ longings through one sharply-rendered musical
\nsetting after another. He uses country-rock rhythms and warm folk
\nvoicings to tell the story of a devastating crush on “My Heart,
\nHold On To Me,” gives a slow country blues a wonderfully restrained
\nintensity on “I Saw Her On Monday,” and tosses off a fun piece of
\nclassicist rock and roll — complete with trashcan drums, Jerry Lee
\nLewis piano and trembly Chris Isaak guitars – on “Four Leaf
\nClover.”<\/p>\n
“Clover” also finds McCormick engaging in vocal and musical
\nKnopflerisms that reminded me of moments from both the giddy
\n“Twisting By The Pool” and the weary “Brothers In Arms” (Dire
\nStraights, people, we’re talking Dire Straights here). Except,
\nMcCormick is a better singer already than Mark Knopfler ever has
\nbeen, investing his vocals with real intensity and subtlety.<\/p>\n
Another highlight is the sweet, loping, almost scatted seduction
\npiece McCormick tosses off with casual precision on “Won’t You Take
\nIt From Me.” Here Andy Burton’s Hammond organ takes more of a lead
\nrole, with Matt Wilcox’s electric guitar embellishing the melody
\nrather than leading it. Equally appealing is the very pretty (and
\ntimely) closing ballad “Is It Over?”<\/p>\n
I love irony, but the lack of any in these tunes only reinforces
\nthe potency of the narratives and McCormick’s steadfastly sincere
\ndelivery of them. Songs this well-crafted don’t need to be
\nembellished with winks, nods or punchlines. Fergus McCormick is the
\nopposite of flashy — a gentle, sincere storyteller who mixes
\nromanticism with directness to forge his own uniquely appealing
\nstyle.
\nJumping The Gun<\/i> is a worthwhile purchase for anyone who
\nenjoys a good song, and a songwriter who isn’t afraid to wear his
\nheart on his sleeve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":27061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[7163],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-38391","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-fergus-mccormick","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38391"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38391"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}