Signers of the Non-Alignment Pact,

A major benefit of attending gigs is that new songs can be heard and we can leave excited about the next record. Currently, the wait is on for what should be a monumental My Latest Novel album, but thankfully, the wait for Colin MacIntyre’s new album is over.

The Water has been released to a blaze of no glory, I’ve haven’t heard anything about it on the radio; it’s a pity because this is the work of a pop genius. Colin certainly has a problem with those who are famous and perhaps the lack of promotion is some sort of statement, but maybe he’s occupied and I’m going off at a tangent.

The Water has 12 songs, each song is as good as the next. In many ways, it is textbook; the rhythms and melodies are right, his lyrics are witty, meaningful and audible, the structures of the songs are simple and he knows how to write a chorus. There are no annoying bits or dodgy time signatures. The Water is just an album that fits together perfectly.

You’re A Star is single material, but then so too is Be My Saviour. The Water is a great album track, it’s a bit slower but the medieval chords give a special identity. I Can I Will is classic Mull Historical Society stuff.

Famous for Being Famous is Colin’s rant against your Pete and Amy types but the song may have its roots in the past, every generation has people who get unnecessary attention. I’m glad Colin has referred to them as famous, because they do have fame yet should not really celebrated as they haven’t achieved anything.

Camelot Revisited is a nice pop ballad. I Don’t Have You to Ask is in one of those classic Mull Historical Society moulds, it’s cross-referenced under slow, brooding, wistful but eventually uplifting. If I had to choose a favourite, it might be I Have Been Burned, “by someone who looks a little bit, who talks a little bit…like you” is the lyric that sticks in my head the most, all the time in the background, the band are striking up the brass and string sections.

Stalker was played for a brief time on the radio back in 2007, it may have been something to do with an expected release date for this album or a filum soundtrack – it has a mean riff, perfectly apt for recounting the movements of a nasty stalker. Future Gods and Past Kings surpasses anything that those in the “twits and guitars” movement like These New Puritans, Damn Shames or Foals have can do, Colin takes them on at their own game in this one , ranting about urban life is their usual theme, and puts them to shame.

Faith No. 2 starts off in an almost Cocteau Twins-esque vibe but thankfully it gets buried under some of Colin’s rueful thoughts, “it’s almost impossible not to believe in a war, it’s almost impossible just to believe in you, it’s almost impossible not to be sold anymore”. Finally, Colin ends it all in the way befitting of his most political and poignant album to date, with Pay Attention to the Human, he and Tony Benn drill home the message that we got ourselves into this mess and that we have to power to fix it. Justice in the world of music can be best be delivered by purchasing this album.