Another day, another songwriter. That would be my mantra if it rhymed. However, there is a job to be done and it is the turn of Paisley troubadour Johnny McAuley to try to make an impression with his debut EP “Thoughts Around The Circus”.
In truth, he does a pretty good job here. Starting off with “Tied In The Tether of Love” – the weakest song on this EP – he nevertheless shows more ambition than you would find in his acoustically average compadres. The best songs are written about women – you know that is true - so our Mr McAuley throws in a nicely sentimental one called “A Certain Song For Lorraine” that also illustrates that he has the heart of a folk singer. Similarly endearing sentiment is to be found in “Be My Love” while “Bottle Up And Go” is an urban ballad of awkwardness and discontent just waiting for full orchestration.
So, Johnny McAuley knows a thing or two about melody, draws heavily on folk music for inspiration yet clearly doesn’t want to be a new Nick Drake or another Americana expat. All of that bodes well for his future.