After listening to Miracle on repeat, the impression which lingers is that its creator has assimilated a lot of music. First and third album Big Star, Magnetic Fields, The Left Banke, the non-rock side of Abbey Road, Nilsson, Lloyd Cole, Plush, Emitt Rhodes, the poppy side of Field Music, a smidge of Elliott Smith, the swoon of Brian Wilson. Yet the result is a coherent song cycle with its own flavour. Classic, yet fresh. Familiar, but different.
The creator of this musically erudite album is Tom McClung, a former member of the high-concept Manchester band Wu Lyf. They hid their identities and he has followed suit by adopting the Francis Lung persona for his solo work (no relation to the similarly located and named WH Lung). Miracle is his second solo album.
Every song is a yearning sigh, big on descending melodies and circular melodic patterns. A bit like “Fool on the Hill”. Where predecessor album A Dream Is U gave the impression it was about the destruction of a relationship through substance abuse, Miracle’s theme appears to be getting to grips with a sense of self. There’s a droll way with words. During “Blondes Have More Fun”, McLung sings of “Listening to The Cure like it really is a cure.” In "Don't Call me Baby", he declares “some words are so useless they feel like you’re dead, just leave them in your mouth and go back to bed.” Some bitterness rises to the surface.
Miracle feels deliberate, constructed. Project-like. Much thought has gone into it, and some roughness around the edges and instrumental frugality might have made it more immediate. It hits hardest with the sparse, velvety “Comedown (Again)”. Nonetheless, if BC Camplight is looking for a lower key but simpatico tour mate – look no further than Francis Lung.
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