Altsounds - Tragic O'Hara - Above The Below

'Above The Below' is simplicity; not in the sense that it is simple and stupid, but it is made with little fuss, little going-over-the-top, no large drum solos, and certainly no wanky guitar riffs splattered all over it. What this leads to is an uncluttered easy listening album (not in the shitty pan-pipes way!) that's very much in a country and western(s) vibe a-la Wayne & Eastwood.

Steven McIntyre (aka Tragic O'Hara, yes I guess it has more of a old-fashioned ring to it) has just gone in and sung and hit things and strummed things all by his lonesome and you can very much hear this is a one-man show somewhat akin to those Clint Eastwood westerns where all eyes are on Clint as he looks generally bad-ass.

With it's hymnal intro 'Caught Between The Devil' sets the stage for what follows with it's Americana gospel feel crossing swords with an almost Flying Burrito Brothers sound. Seguing into the harmonic driven 'If I Was You' with it's playful Spanish guitar intricacies and a personal favourite of mine yes the mighty hand-clap (instantly improves any song I reckon). To really make my early point of the western motif just take a listen to 'Running Back To Me' this is about as galloping horse, swing-doored saloon as it gets.

Those delightful hand-claps make a welcome return alongside some sterling slide guitar as 'Wolves At The Door' tells the tale of a convict repenting for his sins, this bursts into a real toe-tapper as it develops. 'Women Of The Night' slows the pace with a mournful piano track that spoils what had been building up previously, 'Dead Man Walking' is similarly designed to take things down a little but it's driving acoustics and constant stream of lyrical content that reminds you of an old man telling a tale of his past keeps the intrigue.

'Bottom Of The Bottle' sees a group sing-along clearly meant for those late nights in a dimly lit bar somewhere no doubt in the middle of nowhere with everyone wearing plaid, though that may be a little stereotypical (ah bugger it). 'David Jones' sees an electric guitar make an appearance you almost forget if it's a first time appearance on this record and to me sounds incredibly like a little Seasick Steve riff in there.

If I had to lay some criticism on this record; let's face it that's what us critics are here for, it would be that the record is a bit too long and shows too many of the same traits with a few tracks replicating previous tracks a little trimming would have cured this minor problem. Production value is a little low as well but it's a self-released project so it's not as if Sony came in and pledged Japan's economic budget to aid recording so these things are to be expected.

'Above The Below' is booze-soaked and would no doubt smell like an old wooden tavern if it had a scent, there is little in the way of modernism but who doesn't like to go back in time now and again to sample the delights that Marty McFly got to see first-hand? Of course you do.

Tracklisting:
1. Caught Between The Devil
2. If I Was You
3. Running Back To Me
4. One Man Army
5. Wolves At The Door
6. Women Of The Night
7. Dead Man Walking
8. Jesus On My Dashboard (Honey Eye)
9. Exactly How It Seems
10. Heretic
11. Bottom Of The Bottle
12. David Jones
13. Room For The Night
14. Give Me A Reason

Produced by: Steven McIntyre

http://www.myspace.com/tragicoharauk