Artist description It's taken Hugh McClelland a good 2 years to work his way towards this solid debut album, a collection of beautiful & exquisitely haunting songs. A strong album that sounds better each time, with it's sneakily hypnotic organ, Rhodes piano & Jazz-influenced guitar, full of grand dark passion & romantic charm.There's something curiously yet irresistibly 'old-fashioned about this album with it's naggingly catchy songs. Hovering fragilely between Jazz & R'n'B (but not the stuff for nonchalant toe-tappers though; it's both confrontational & intelligent) his guitar playing is rooted in 'songs' rather than hot licks but nonetheless the style is sharp, hard & irresistibly sparky with an occasional hint of 50's Rockabilly flavour. Indeed this haunting blend of styles has intoxicated & entranced many during recent months.Standout tracks abound. The oddly quirky "Chase" seems almost scornful of sense; words screaming past you without apparently any clear connection. He uses language to put across a message of feeling that perhaps language in the conventional sense couldn't portray. After 3 or 4 playings you realise he is singing about an intense 'fallen-in-love' relationship - & engaging everything within his power to bring himself into contact with this seemingly unrequited love; an extraordinary tension results.The shivery melodic sense of this collection is brought to a point of quiet magnificence on the Billie Holidayesque "Losing My Sleep Over You", perhaps the albums finest moment.On superficial acquaintance he's an accomplished guitarist with a fine voice anchored in the blues. Closer familiarity with, for instance, "Again & Again & Again" revels that his voice seems to come from a place where deep hurt & profound serenity are forever slugging it out. The summertime picnic whisper of "Kissing My Chance Goodbye" is chillingly convincing & magnificent. Even the down-home blues of "Won't Stop Me Leaving" has a quality that haunts. For many the blues is an excuse for ridiculously ornate guitar solos. For Hugh McClelland, it is a starting point for an emotional journey, one which we can all share & of course, it is never too late to jump aboard.The crafted writing & painfully immaculate guitar playing pave the way across an aural journey through these haunting love-lorn mood pieces. The caressing baritone vocals, unobtrusive percussion & flowing acoustic guitar rhythms all add up to a previously unfathomed range & complexity of songwriting which remains deliciously fresh & exciting from start to finish & back again.The compositional quality is classy all the way through & so is the playing. Jazz or Blues purists may well tut, but it's the innocent emotional intensity of this record that makes it so compelling.

Music Style Rockabilly

Musical Influences Elvis, Stray Cats, Gene Vincent, Johnny Kid, Ricky Nelson

Instruments Fender Jaguar

Albums Kissing, Tearing & Losing

Location Slough, Berkshire - United Kingdom

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