You have all probably heard of writer's block. It is when you have something to write but the words just won't come and the only cure is to sleep with one or more of your ex wives (or at least it is in the glamorous life of a writer in Hollywood, it would seem). Writing music reviews - especially when you write them in increasingly large batches - can induce another problem when you listen to an album for the second time and it sounds nothing like it did the first time that you heard it. It's enough to drive a man to drink (sleeping with ex wives having no actual appeal in real life).
Such was the case with this EP from Robbie MacInnes. The first time that I listened to it , I could have sworn that I heard a decent, if rather undistinguished, singer songwriter. Certainly, the opening song "The Antidote" could have come from any number of other singer songwriters but the business of establishing a musical identity is not easy so it is time to move on to the next song "Lay You Down". There are echoes of that wondrous band, the State Broadcasters (after all, he used to play with Graeme Black of said band), here notably in his laidback, impassioned delivery. Perhaps that is it. He is not trying to gain our attention directly but through stealth. "She Came in a Dream" gets right under your skin and your mind readily expands its simplicity into a full colour widescreen version. He tells a good story too and "Endless Lullaby" impresses with that certain lyrical weariness that Tom Waits also has. The subtle female vocals on the chorus seem perfectly in place now but again I swear that I never heard them the first time. The last track, "Broken" , is intelligent and sensitive but you really have to listen to it a good few times to appreciate its understated charm.
That the thing about Robbie MacInnes' songs - they develop as you listen. It does not take much effort to hear them as much bigger than they actually are and that bodes well for his future success. Bluesbunny started this review at "not again" and now ends it with "more please".