January Second

is when you see the city

return to the humdrum:

standing in long queues at Starbucks,

selling the Big Issue  –

head garbed in a hand knitted hat –

by bins brimming with post-pub mulch.

Soon, shaky-pale students

will hand out Shortlists for free,

cleft-eyed; split from sleep,

whilst a commuter decants

from her shiny-new bicycle – its wicker basket

gleams empty from the mist-hung air –

unsure where to chain her prized

gift on the fence of grit-weathered specimens;

box-fresh ankle boots stamp.

But then the homeless man –

the one who wore glasses

and had front teeth before Christmas –

points out a gap where it’ll be safe,

unlike him, who sleeps in any space

to shield from the grit-weathered streets.

Her flushed face shakes:

lined-eyes stream past her coral nose,

her coral nose streams into lined-lips,

her lined-lips mouth words unfit for children,

box-fresh ankle boots stamp once more;

the homeless man waved away.

January second is when the city

returns to its apathetic ways;

to its grit-weathered routine;

unwilling to squeeze into new gaps.

Tomas Bird - Glass Wood 2016

Medicine Men - In the Breeze

     I’ve not long finished listening to the new Medicine Men track In the Breeze for what can’t be too far away from the twentieth time.  It is now time to try and put words to this wonderful experience that will do it justice.

     The first thing to comment on is how director Jonathan Magowan has set the scene.  There is a distinct semblance of tranquillity to the vibrant woodland surroundings, and it is here where we meet the pale and alluring Rachel Menzies, who, unbeknownst to her, will soon begin a journey of discovery driven by the Psyche / Dance machine that is Medicine Men.

     It leads in with the watery god like riff from Ian Mackinnon’s Organizer pedal; the tones proffered could easily be an offering to Poseidon himself, but it’s the introduction of the bands exciting and exceptionally clever rhythmic parts that start to bring the song to life:  thick and thunderous bass lines, a brisk and shoulder-popping drum tempo which allows the Hammond Organ to warmly weave between both.

     The band stand before a graffiti stained, dilapidated pillared mansion, and are the picture of quintessential cool.  When Mackinnon bellows out “Youth is on your side from the man at the top / Don’t get on that wheel cos you work till you drop” we see the wandering, exploring gaze of Menzies as she gently moves through the forest; it is from here that I am hauntingly hooked.

     Emphatically singing “Your star won’t sleep in the shadows / Not time for me but it’s time for you”, Mackinnon and in turn, Magowan take us to a dark ritualistic scene that is steeped in pagan symbolism. 

     The subtle musical phrases provide beautiful counterpoints to the composition that soon build as Ian Stroud – portraying the devil – offers, at first, the classic forbidden fruit and then appealingly, the more modern sin; money.

     Breaking down, the final scenes are signalled with minimal ambience, especially with the fine resonant hits on the bell of the cymbal which lead back into the steadfast groove that’s been prominent throughout.

     The closing vocals are emphatic, the music becomes almost rapturous, there is no hope or escape for our fair maiden; the apple was consumed and with it, a realization settles on her that there never was any hope; not in the classic context anyway.  Mackinnon punches home hard with the final lyric “If I see you in the gallows / Long time no see, but it’s fine for me” to ensure there is no doubt in this.

     It has been a very long time since I’ve listened to a single track on repeat for a full weekend.  This truly does have everything I want from a song and it was very near impossible to write a review as quite frankly, I couldn’t sit still.  The music, the structure, the transitions and linkages between sections and Mackinnon’s profound lyrics are echoed perfectly against the dark themes of Magowan’s vision; easily one of the best Sunday’s I’ve had for a while…what an absolute pleasure to write.

     In the Breeze is released on the 11^th of November 2016 via Neon Tetra Records and will feature on Medicine Men’s debut album which is due for release in spring 2017.

Their next gigs to promote In the Breeze are as follows:

Sat 12^th of November – Glasgow, Hug & Pint

Wed 23^rd November – London, The Victoria

Sat 26^th November – Edinburgh, Voodoo Rooms

I categorically implore you all too at least make one of these gigs.

Tomas Bird – Oct 2016

The Beginning of a False Prophecy

I await the blood.

The moon, immaculate,

sets forth across the bay window.

The fourth in the tetrad,

fear and hope boil down in the same blue-grey pot;

prayers steam and rise across the world.

My whisky glass fills,

distilled from grain-grown

in the fields of life,

where top soil tears are turned,

rocks of regret removed,

time is the till, friends the furrow,             

and the soul-searching-seeds planted

together have ripened;

tonight’s silver is relied upon to harvest reflections.

One more season to endure

till Spring next year;

only if we survive tonight of course.

My whisky glass fills.

I await the blood.

Tomas Bird - Glass Wood 2016

Landscaping October

No time!  The hours of light recede to dark

sketches, but finger swept with charcoal marc.

The year is dying, but that’s nothing new,

it only means less hours to hack and hew

next seasons paths for spring bulbs and chipped bark.

In time, rockeries turn spiral from arc,

upcycled brick, columned; silhouetted-stark

against the cold hunters dawn; greyish-blue.

                The hours of light recede.

But time moves fast for the garden toparch,

soon morning fog will deny the suns spark.

At best, the skyline will be tinged ecru.

The cold, incremental.  Winters curfew

extends to the timeless pitch black of dark;

                recede, the hours of light. 

Tomas Bird - Glass Wood 2016