If you are tired of the current wave of squeaky-clean, sanitized acoustic guitar-wielding singer-songwriters, the chart-bound popsters trying to convince us that they are doing anything other than playing songs in time to the beat of the cash till’s ring, then you could do a lot worse than bend an ear in the direction of A.G. McIntosh.
For a start, musically, he reminds me of a different kind of six-stringer, and an older and more astute one, the brilliantly raw edges and willfully, slightly abrasive textures more akin to old punk troubadours like Nikki Sudden or perhaps even Johnny Thunders than the polished-to-within-an-inch-of-its-life sound of today. Straight down the line deliveries with just enough hook and riff threaded through its rhythms, simple as that. No gimmicks or studio tricks, music made as it should be.
But perhaps the reason “Better Than The Last” works so well is its honesty. As McIntosh lays out how things have improved since his significant other entered his life, and how he himself is a better person, what oozes from the notes and words is authenticity, honesty, and a palpable sense of devotion and gratitude. And these are things that are impossible to fake, things that resonate with the listener, things that most of us can relate to.
Guitars fire off rhythmic salvos, others lace interesting counterpoint through the main lines, Hammond organs rise, dynamics ebb and flow, and words of sheer adoration dance deftly over the top.
Ironically, it is music made without a commercial aspect in mind, music made for the purest of reasons, that is the music most likely to catch a wave. And even if it doesn’t, who cares? This is music made with a higher purpose in mind. It simply says “Thank You”.
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