Christian McKee first contacted me about 6 months ago to review his four-track EP. It contained one track which combined low budget hip-hop with witty pop whilst the others covered his more romantic side. The debut album follows a similar ratio of styles but moreover proves that McKee’s impressive start was no fluke.
Kicking off with ‘Alive By The Weekend’ is certainly a lively (almost hyperactive) way to start. Yet, good as that song is, ‘Flowers In The Rain’ is likely to offer longer term enjoyment. McKee is at his lovelorn peak; his voice is rich and distinctive whilst soulful synths and a lovely melody belie the meagre self-produced recording. ‘When Was There’ and ‘Lot Of Pain To Bury’ are other highpoints thanks to their simple, melancholic refrains. Elsewhere the mid-paced ‘Noses Of The Philistines’ represents the acceptable face of MOR even if ‘Seventeen Again’ and ‘It’s Over’ sound like the product of a man approaching the blandness of someone their approaching middle age. It’s hard to think of any artist who sounds quite like McKee but at his best he certainly has the warmth and soulfulness of artists like the simlarly underrated Merz. Better still, the album is available completely free for download from his own website on http://www.christianmckee.com/.
References:
Review Of McKee’s ‘The Ipods & Cyclops E.P’
Review Of Merz’s ‘Loveheart’
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