Mayor McCA

Having left Canada to live in London for the past year or so, Mayor McCa’s excellent new record reflects the big changes in his life. Seemingly divided into five parts (perhaps by the title’s formation but maybe not), section "Cue” features three forlorn, folky love songs that are simply beautiful. Both "One of These Days” and "Watch Out” drip with vintage British poppiness, recalling the work of the Beatles on Rubber Soul. Section "Are” moves from John to Yoko, with the Mayor scatting gibberish enthusiastically on "Writer’s Blahk,” channelling Frank Zappa on "Hair Farmer,” and just being a sonic nuisance on the classic rockin’ "Sippacuppacoffee.” "Es” comes back down again for "How 2 Right a Song” and the sparse "A Birthday Song,” where McCa sounds genuinely depressed, singing contemplative love songs. "Tea” is the complete opposite with "You” starting things off as another fawning, sugar-sweet folk number, followed by the charmingly catchy, Lennon-esque "Dear.” The section ends with the vaguely junky hip-hop of "DGU,” which seems out of step in between two dignified pop songs. The last section begins meditatively with "Take Care,” which could be a contemporary Wilco mantra, and the record drifts away unceremoniously with the wispy "Bed,” which dissolves into its thematic counterpart "Wake Up Baby.” It’s a rather anti-climatic ending to a truly eclectic, yet remarkably focused record by Mayor McCa, who is maturing into a thoughtfully heartfelt songwriter.