PressUp Country Magazine - February 2009 Recent history has taught us that great Country music can spring from sources far removed from Nashville or Austin. Carlisle's Steve McCormick is a good example, an easy going alt.country/Americana (Steve suggests 'Englisha') singer an appealingly idiosyncratic British take on an otherwise American genre who isn't fond of traditional English Country acts. Within this album he has developed a lyrical consistency, which means songs about soldiers, booze and infidelity, all sang with a jaded sense of reality only a world weary Brit with a stiff upper lip could pull off. The opening number, Another English Cowboy, sets out his stall with his caustic take on British Country singers who insist on wearing Stetsons and singing in American accents. Unlike other fledgling artists, his songwriting shows a depth and maturity well beyond most artists his age (32). Self-penned efforts like My Woman Doesn't Give A Damn and The Other Man stand out as the gems of an album with very few fillers. I'm Alright, Jack is a brilliant up-tempo track, his most impassioned vocal turning the traditional Country theme of 'losing everything' on its head to a place where everything is going swimmingly. He does get serious as well on the ballad, Innocent Place, a dark, quadi-autobiographical number about murder. That Girl Was Gonna Make Me Rich is another bitterly funny song. The real gem is saved for last, Living In Loserville, the sort of terribly tender, melancholic tune he seems to do well, a song that the listener doesn't really want to see finish. Steve's voice may not be the strongest but his guitar playing is faultless. The subtly charms you, winning you over with endearing and enchanting songs. As much as Steve would like to deny it, this is a s Country/Americana album and a rather spiffing British one at that. Verdict 4/5 - Excellent quirky debut album from a man without a Stetson in largely uncompromising genre. Rick Robinson |
