Linda McLean - The Borderline, London - 4th August 2006

Review by Sian Owen

Opening for what promised to be a pretty stunning evening (i.e. Ray Wiley Hubbard), at the Borderline, London, Linda McLean and Hubby Andy McLean performed an intimate set, which, given that this particular writer had rushed straight from work, in London Summer heat (involving the usual rigmarole of getting stuck on the Underground, sat next to some old man with terrible body odour and halitosis), was a very welcome experience.

For those who have heard McLeanÕs new album, ÒNo LanguageÓ, which is fairly slick in terms of production, their stripped down acoustic set was a cool version of a lovely set of songs. ItÕs always a pleasure to hear acoustic versions of recorded tracks, and when an artist makes those songs sound as rich as the recordings, but with fewer instruments, itÕs a credit to their musicianship. Plus Linda McLean has a great voice, flipping from the steely tone similar to that of Lucinda Williams, to something altogether a lot more soft and gentle. It seemed bizarre that she was the opening act on this evening, the general standard of musicians was certainly higher than the usual bog-standard acoustic Alt.Country acts touted around. Perhaps the booking agent had a momentary bout of dippiness? Ah wellÉ

McLean is one blessed lady, spending much of her time living in the forests of Northern Ontario, drawing on the beauty of her surroundings to inspire her music. Well, there are worse ways to spend your time. This love of nature, and an organic appreciation of pretty much everything spills across into her music. McLean is one of those artists who is very humble in the face of being creative.

As she explained, ÒSometimes, its like the music takes on a life of itÕs own. With ÔAlmost AlienÕ, I wrote that in about half an hour, it just came right out.Ó

Whereas songs like ÒBurn The BoatsÓ, another stand out track on the new album, just paint gorgeous pictures, and evoke powerful imagery: ÒWell, itÕs a love song,Ó explained McLean, ÒAnd because IÕm Norwegian, my husband had this idea of this Viking imagery, the whole pushing the boats out, burning the boats.Ó

Lyrically, McLean comes out with lines that really grab the listener. For this writer, ÒAlmost AlienÓ has McLean describing ÔWarming herself by candle-lightÓ, which brought back memories of living as a poor student in a big old house in Sunderland, lighting candles to make the rooms look warm, even when it was beyond Baltic (cue violins). Explaining this to McLean, she went on to fully empathise (or visa versa): ÒWe were in this cottage in the countryside, and it was really cold, so yeah, I imagined what it would be like for people to put the candles and pretend to be warm.Ó

At this point, itÕs worth mentioning that McLean is an extremely likable and fun person to be around, and very easy to talk with. In fact it felt more like a night in the pub having a gossip rather than anything else, which is always a bonus. So, bearing this in mind, was there any showbiz gossip from the world of Alt. Country? Not in a PopBitch sense, in fact the worst it got was that Lucinda Williams wore some weird make-up once.

So there you go, But it did lead the conversation onto something McLean obviously cares very much about, and that is the notion of quality pop music.

It seems a shame that, at the moment in mainstream pop, there is a Ôdumbing downÕ of popular music. For example, children seem to be routinely exposed to uniform, plastic pop, which might sound nice, but they arenÕt really given the skills to be their own critics, in the sense that there is little for them in terms of quality to hear, and therefore use as a basis for comparison. All they seem to get is meaningless drivel.

Practically every song McLean has written is either a powerful memory, story, or opinion. Take her previous album, ÒBettyÕs RoomÓ, has a touching history: ÒIt was about a friend, who died a while back, but she was really good at art. She wasnÕt really pursuing it, so I really encouraged her to follow that, and in the end she was really successful. I commissioned her to do a piece [the cover art for the album]. I wrote that song about her.Ó It seems fitting that not only is that song a tribute to a good friend, but the message behind that is that whatever you set your mind to, you can achieve. After a career in acting, and studying classical music, and only starting her career as a singer/songwriter in her mid-30Õs, McLean is obviously talking with the voice of experience. ItÕs not impossible to get control of your life, and itÕs not that hard to be brave and do something you wouldnÕt normally do.

A fitting metaphor for this ethos would be the album cover for ÒNo LanguageÓ, where McLean is taking a dip, starkers, in an extremely chilly looking lake. Frankly, YouÕd have to be brave to do that.

ÒThat was soooo cold!Ó she laughed, ÒI was wearing a wet suit, and then it was photo-shopped to make it look like I was naked. I had to go under and come up about 10 times.Ó I understand the photograph of you hugging Andy is more relief than anything else, I suggested. ÒOh yeah, that was it! You understand it now!Ó Indeed.

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