Michael McGovern - Highfield Suite (Album Review)
Michael McGovern’s debut album ‘Highfield Suite’ is a short but sweet introduction to the talents of the Glasgow singer/songwriter and guitarist who, at 25, seemingly has an old head on a pair of surprisingly young shoulders. Inspired at an early age by the usual suspects (Dylan, Cohen, Simon, Fleet Foxes) McGovern began writing songs while still in his teens and with the forced isolation of 2020, the time was right to embark on his debut record. McGovern commenced recording with one microphone in a small wooden cabin in Galway before enlisting Bill Shanley to co-produce. The pair subtly expanding McGovern’s intricate nylon-strung fingerpicked guitar sound into full band arrangements with the addition of a rhythm section, piano, an unexpected dash of saxophone, a smattering of pedal steel and some very pleasing vocal harmonies.
The opening track ‘I’m Not Myself Today (Take Me Back)’ finds McGovern sounding like a less road-weary Willie Nelson on a track that falls into the realms of relationships, of love and often unrequited love that is like oxygen to any budding songwriter. McGovern’s vocal delivery perfectly captures the feeling of melancholy “You don’t have to stay, I’m not myself today”. The title track follows expanding on the acoustic premise with Jenny Kinane’s harmony vocal and Conor Steele’s pedal steel adding gentle colour.
The slightly disappointing thing about the album is that some tracks are more vignettes than fully-fleshed out songs. ‘The Night Game’ is a case in point as McGovern's vocal and gentle acoustic guitar are complimented by a snatch of ethereal backing vocal, then it's gone. Likewise, the piano-led ‘I Let You Down’ is full of aching sincerity but while I shouldn't question the songwriter's intention, wanting to hear more should be considered a positive reaction. ‘Sleep, Sleep, Sleeping’ feels more fully formed as James Steele’s muted saxophone adding a light jazzy flow to proceedings.
‘Isle of May’ is the song that anchors the album as a whole as McGovern includes references to nature, the weather and the original pilgrims that settled this remote Scottish island. McGovern adds an almost, Balearic feel to his acoustic guitars to capture the sun breaking through the slate grey sky while the massed vocal harmonies add weight and presence. The album concludes with the ambitious ‘I Hear Their Voices In The Attic’ where McGovern pleasingly pushes the upper registry of his voice as our protagonist hears voices seemingly pushing him into a deep psychotic depression. The expansive piano mid-section and denouement of ‘I Hear Their Voices In The Attic’ is very striking and shows a songwriter finding his feet and willing to take chances.
There’s plenty to like about the debut release from Michael McGovern. Clocking in under thirty minutes, it seems to be over in a flash, but live with the album for a while, and it will give up quite a few hidden delights thanks to McGovern’s way with a melody and sympathetic choices made regarding instrumentation and production.
Highfield Suite is out now via Cauldron Music.
One of the positive aspects of running Red Guitar Music is that you encounter all manner of different musical genres that you wouldn’t necessarily find on your own. The RGM Inbox is positively overflowing with the good, the bad and, yes, the ugly (although something we find unlistenable is probably the best thing in the world to someone). One example that falls squarely in the good category of pleasant surprises is The Happy Couple, discovered on a recent visit to London’s Green Note, where the duo opened for Dimple Discs labelmate Kelsey Michael.