A sense of place has always coloured Tom Minor’s inner city sonic plays, but with this latest single, his signature brand of existential indie also skips across various timelines. “Next Stop Brixton” is a song about the less-than-prodigal son returning to, perhaps quite literally, the scene of his crimes. It is a song that explores the past, our perceptions of it, our recollections of our formative days, and how others might remember things differently. It is about the person you once looked up to, who you now see in a very different light, see them for what they really are.
And as the fallen protagonist takes the train journey back to where it all began, it is not just the physical landscape that flits past the window, but memories and reflections, ghosts and opportunities missed. It is hauntological, nostalgic, and psycho-geographical. (I’ve always wanted to get that word into a music review.)
As always, this Minor song is a major success. (Boom! That’s the pull quote, right there.) Full of urban swagger and a chipper sway, staccato guitar chops and wailing harmonicas, a moddish meets musical theatre East End groove, and a reflection perhaps of the cocky attitude of our central character, and the musical pride that comes, almost certainly, before his imminent realisation of how far he has fallen.
It’s Alan Bennett meets Blur meets Tim Rice meets Nick Hornby….there’s a musical theatre adaptation in all of these great songs, surely.
