Tom Hingley returns with his first new material since last year’s Decades album, delivering another beautifully heartfelt collection of songs and his first ever solo vinyl album (other formats are available too!).
The Grand Mal has been recorded sporadically over the past three years, with Tom road testing the songs on his never ending acoustic tour. Many of the songs will be familiar to the faithful who follow Tom’s career. As The Grand Mal has gone through different recording phases, we get a mixture of solo acoustic numbers and some collaborative pieces too with Tom joined by a host of other musicians including Gary Hadfield on bass - who also produced the album, Kelly Wood & Andrew Stewardson on piano and keys, Peter Marshall on drums and harps courtesy of Steve Clear and Carol Walker.
The revealing Actors gets the album underway, featuring only Tom’s vocal and trusty acoustic guitar. These cathartic and autobiographical songs are a frequent feature of Tom’s solo work, where he wears his heart on his sleeve. The full band pieces Easy and Take It Like A Woman are up next and very reminiscent of the style of songs from Tom’s post-inspirals band The Lovers. The aptly-titled Easy is just that; almost like easy listening music before the more upbeat Take It Like A Woman. It’s clear on The Grand Mal that there’s a real versatility to Tom’s work.
The acoustic Another Bird On The Wire takes its lead from Leonard Cohen and showcases Tom’s incredible vocal range and also features some subtle piano from Kelly Wood. I first heard Another Bird On The Wire at a stunning acoustic show two years ago, where Making It Hard To Be Born Again was also given an early outing. It immediately stood out for me as one of the highlights of Tom’s incredible solo career. Making It Hard To Be Born Again is presented here as a full band piece and in truth works just as well either as a solo piece or a full band affair. Tom’s voice is still the star here though.
How Could I Be So Wrong? is a complete departure from anything Tom has ever done before and is dominated by Andrew Stewardson’s synths. It’s an epic piece and Tom’s vocals have never been so powerful. I’ve always admired the production on Tom’s solo albums and The Grand Mal is no exception, especially on How Could I Be So Wrong. Stunning. It would be interesting to see if Tom and Andrew pursued more tunes like this. How Could I Be So Wrong is unexpected yet the star of the show of this eclectic album which, given what I had heard live, before the release of The Grand Mal I wouldn’t have thought possible.
My Madness changes the mood and tempo again and is reminiscent of the fine work Tom was doing a few years ago with band mates Malc Law and Ste Pearce in The Tom Hingley Band.
As the album draws to a close, we are presented with three more fine acoustic tracks White Feathers, Open Up and Turnstyle and the full band piece This Is My First Rodeo. White Feathers is a lament before This Is My First Rodeo takes over. Slower in pace than My Madness, again it wouldn’t sound out of place on a Tom Hingley Band album (for the uninitiated, I’d highly recommend Tom’s band albums I Love My Job and Paper).
Open Up is an acoustic love song with Tom’s voice again front and centre before Turnstyle rounds this impressive, eclectic collection of songs to a close. As a lyricist, Tom Hingley is much underrated with Turnstyle showcasing what a fine wordsmith he is.
The Grand Mal is a fine collection of songs. In his 60th year, Tom Hingley is still producing music of the highest quality; eclipsing his peers; never afraid to stand still; pushing and challenging himself. The Grand Mal is a worthy addition to his burgeoning back catalogue. The Grand Mal is available on LP, CD, and download.
Tom’s famously never ending tour continues in various guises this autumn, including tribute band shows with the Kar-Pets, solo shows and some special album launch shows at Manchester Castle Hotel (September 27), Rochdale Heyside Festival (28), Camden Dingwalls 2 (October 3), Witney Fat Lil's (18), Stoke The Artisan (November 18) and Halifax The Grayston Unity (December 6) interspersed with solo shows listed on his website.
Tom Hingley's official website can be found here. He is also on Facebook and Twitter
The album can be ordered here.
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