Review of the Inverness Paul John MacIver Band's debut at Hootanannys
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REVIEW: Paul John MacIver Band
Hootanannys, Inverness
4 stars
Paul John MacIver's new band launch had brought a crowd to Hootanannys – but first the chance came to see one of the other new Inverness line-ups to emerge in 2022 again.
Algorithm had packed out the Tooth & Claw for their own arrival a few months back. And a sheen of confidence has glossed their stage presence in the gap in between seeing them then and now. Even just catching their last number, the unique mix of savvy pop and party spirit promises plenty for 2023.
Inverness singer songwriter Paul John MacIver has dropped a few singles since last summer – at that time with the promise of his album Connections to come. Songs such as the vulnerable folk vibe of I Need A New Hero and the witty words of Loose Lips had hinted at something special to come with the album.
But those two songs weren’t played on the night. On reflection, a bit weird to leave out two of your strongest songs that you'd previously chosen to release as singles and to be your album’s calling cards.
But maybe that was because there were more than enough other great songs to go round…
For anyone in the venue who had already picked up their copy of the album which came out in that 24 hours or had watched the videos for the singles, they would already have heard the lyrics. So, for them the band's live performance should probably have added a whole extra layer of enjoyment to the songs – already being familiar with the smart, sometimes stop-you-in-your-tracks lyrics. Everyone else in the venue would, like me, possibly just have been getting tantalising snapshots of the words – I wasn't catching all the lyrics live.
With singer Paul securing some familiar faces for his band from line-ups very well-known back in the day – Martin Stewart on keyboards, Caroline Truslove on bass, Calum Chisholm on drums and lead guitarist Barry MacLennan to add some sparkle – the band hit the ground running as the set started with the album title track Connections.
About having faith in yourself against the odds, also trying to capture the moment two people connect – but just as much about “Trying to find a way to sing my song” – it kept hooking back to “you’ll never take this night away from us”, the story of two people. It's a lot to get in one song, but it works. And it got the crowd dancing away in front of Paul who looked relaxed from the off singing with a guitar in front of him.
He announced next song 1984 which landed with more of the plaintive, hard-edged quality he can bring to his voice, in your mind tracing a direct line back to the days of The Now, a band that fed off the singer's white hot energy.
But there's a mellow side to this line-up and these songs – and this Paul.
And next number Only Shore was one of a clutch of songs in the set – and on the album – that have a timeless, folk-edged element to them, added to by the singer's emphatic pronouncing of some words, such as "crowd" with a hard 'r' and a big round vowel, or glottal stops stripping out the hard 't' in a word like "matter" leaving no-one in any doubt that this band is Scottish, come from Inverness, and are proud of it.
From the acoustic style of the vocal to the 'alternative rock' they declare as guidance on Bandcamp to what you can expect genre-wise for those buying the album, there's a unique identity to these songs and their sound. Sophisticated, funny, touching, impeccably structured with choruses and hooks, they also rock. On top of that, so many of the songs unveiled are perfect little miracles of storytelling.
Johnny From The Gutter is the story of a hero born on the tough side of town with a talent – "from the gutter to the glory". Only Shore is a swaying love song with an earwormy chorus.
But for a song that sums up the something-special, occasionally tongue-in-cheek words, ability to throw an irresistible melody out there for a crowd to sing along to, and this time bordering on – surely not – the soft country rock genre – how about the bonkers class warfare anthem with the ludicrously singable hook, Fly Fishing Only?
And it's a song about right here, right now – from the point of view of someone who loves their fishing and not happy about being warned off by "upper class gentry", more "annoying than midges". Suddenly it's cool to be standing there in the crowd singing "Fly fishing only!" at the top of your lungs.
How do you follow that?
Probably with highspot of the set in mood and tempo, The Butcher's Leavings, with its "sha la las" and "Ho-re-a-ho-ho", a surreal pell-mell into party mode where "The drums are beating and my heart's pumping".
A couple more songs followed, but it was already a dream start for any band.
And it leaves the odd tantalising little mystery to ponder – till the next gig – in both the set and the band. I've only once heard the phrase "single-skinner" used in a song before. Sign of a tribute or a co-write?
Until that next gig, you could soundtrack the start of 2023 by checking out album Connections for yourself. This band is one to watch.
