Songs in the low- key of life

It’s that time of the year again when the dark, cold nights can have you thinking enviously of mammals that hibernate. For those of us not lucky enough to have a shoebox full of straw to climb into, this is the season when certain kinds of records begin to radiate with an alluring, nocturnal, warmth. Have you ever noticed that Leonard Cohen and Will Oldham sound so much better in November?

It’s an ideal time, then, for a young songwriter to bring some dimly lit and heart-bruised material to the table. So, if you’re dreading the prospect of putting up the tinsel, say hello to Tom McShane – whose sparse and spindly Songs Are Sad eight-track is just the kind of record to keep you company in a dark room.
A cursory glance through the song-titles (‘Song For M’, ‘No Happy Ending’, ‘Don’t Call Me’) might lead you to conclude that Tom’s muse is located firmly in the land of the romantically unwell, but there is a humour and lightness of touch evident throughout that suggests Tom isn’t in it purely to dress some personal wounds.
“Not at all,” he says. “It’s completely autobiographical but not in as obvious a way as people might think. It’s a patchwork; it’s not linear. Everyone assumes that the songs all refer to specific people and relationships, but they don’t. I don’t like formulas. I find it difficult to write songs unless there’s an interesting idea or concept backing it up. There’s one song in particular – ‘Find A New Path’ - that people have been telling me is a really obvious relationship song, and it’s not at all. Saying that, I’d never tell anyone how to interpret one of my songs, just in case they came up with a smarter meaning than I intended.”
Tom’s original intention to hand the CD to a handful of his mates was scuppered when copies began to circulate and curry favour beyond his immediate circle of friends. Since then, he’s been intrigued at how these “low-key things that I’d never imagine anyone hearing” have been received.
“It’s interesting how people have been interpreting the songs and reacting in different ways. By and large it’s been really favourable. People have been coming up to me and telling me that it’s really good. But I try to take all that with a pinch of salt because I’ve seen people go up to shit bands and tell them they’re really good. “
For the last four years Tom has played lead guitar with recent Hit The Northers Ninebar International/Roque Junior. In that time, though, there has been little to indicate that he wished to share song-writing duties with Phil Woolsey. So, why not integrate the ‘Songs Are Sad’ material into the Roque Junior set?
“With a band you’re maybe working on five or six ideas with, in our case, four other people over the course of about a year. In the solo stuff, you can get an idea, think through how best to present it and, depending on the circumstances, sit down at eight o’clock at night and have it recorded by two in the morning. It’s such a quick process. Stylistically, they’re not really akin to the Roque Junior kind of thing. Phil is a brilliant songwriter and is the guy that holds together the Roque Junior sound. We cover so much ground musically, that I think it’s important to have one guy providing the stability.”
But what about the roll call of bands that struck mighty sparks from the creative internal friction that often comes from having multiple songwriters on board?
“Of course, Teenage Fanclub, The Velvet Underground, The Beatles. When that works it’s brilliant. But how many other bands have you seen in pubs where you can tell they’re indulging the bass player in case he walks out? I just don’t think my kind of stuff really needs a full band backing it. The songs all sound complete without having to bring them to a band for an arrangement.”
That’s true. Get a copy of Songs Are Sad; it’ll ease you through the next few months like Calpol.

www.tommcshane.co.uk