MG Boulter - Further Listening Playlist
We're long term fans of MG Boulter, having had him play in the shop on a few occasions over the years. A songwriter whose turn of phrase and observant lyrics bring new light to the minutiae or small town life. His new album Clifftown, is out now on Hudson Records, and he's been kind enough to make us a playlist of some favourites. Scroll down to read Matt's thoughts on his choices, and to listen
BUY: Clifftown
Clifftown is an album about growing up and living in a seaside suburban town, the good and the bad.
I have always been drawn to songwriters who tackle issues in a fresh way or write about topics that are a little outside the norm. Okkervill River’s On Tour With Zykos and Jens Lekman’s A Postcard to Nina both have that quality and have been major inspirations for my songwriting on Clifftown. There’s also a lot of scene setting in my songs, I like someone to visualise an environment when they are listening to my music. The tracks I picked from Iron and Wine, Belle & Sebastian and Buck Meek all contain strong imagery ranging from leafy American suburbs to picturesque student flats in Glasgow’s Byres Road.
I’m an acoustic guitar player; there’s something about the immediacy of just relying on your fingers and the strings that appeals to me. I’ve never got my head around all the guitar effects (even though I love them). The minimalist acoustic arrangements of Itasca and Nick Drake I find really interesting while the more chamber folk arrangements of Van Morrison’s Slim Slow Slider and the glorious vocal harmonies of Bonnie Prince Billy’s Someone Coming Through inspire the arrangements I put on my own album in relation to double bass, vocal harmonies and use of woodwind and strings. As for The Kiss by Judee Sill, well, my jaw just drops every time I hear this song and reminds me that you don’t have to be loud to be powerful.