John McCabe – Queen City Sounds and Art

John McCabe’s “Lightly” is a Sensitive and Poetic Power Pop Ballad About Childhood Family Heartbreak

“Lightly” finds songwriter John McCabe bringing to bear some intricate yet simple and delicate guitar work to help carry the melody of a song about childhood heartbreak. The call and response vocals help to establish a conversational tone that alleviates some of that pain like you’re getting a sympathetic ear for your hurt and conflicted feelings. Apparently the song is about having to decide between living with one divorced parent or the other at 13 years old and between material comfort in the Midwest or the warm weather and familiarity of San Diego. The countrified power pop sound of the song is the perfect style to allow for McCabe to deliver heavy lines about these decisions with an affection for one’s memories and the tender feelings and sensitivities that come back to you when you revisit that time in your life when nothing seems like a good or easy decision but one people made increasingly from the 1970s forward and while the specific context is the late 70s McCabe makes that deep uncertainty and and those confused feelings resonate for the present time while articulating the nuances and multiple considerations that throw your brain into flux when trying to make an important decision when you’re not quite yet mature and knowledgeable enough to know what the right choice might be and one that will alter the course of your life. Yet, McCabe casts the song in a way that makes whatever decision is made seem like the one that’s going to have to be the best or at least that you’ll end up having to make the best of the consequences. That aspect of the song lends the title a poignant poetic resonance. Listen to “Lightly”on Soundcloud and connect with McCabe at the links provided.

johnmccabemusic.com

John McCabe on Bandcamp

John McCabe on Instagram

“The Margin” by Good at Rockets is an Invitation to an Exercising of Grace in Challenging Times

Good at Rockets is an Orange County Trio that released its latest single “The Margin.” The track certainly bears comparison to late 80s R.E.M. with jangly guitar work paired with poetically introspective lyrics that examine the strange ways humans conduct their lives and engage with the world around them by way of behaviors intended to be statements of identity not often examined enough, a pantomime of intentionality. The spare piano work accents the melodic line and as a subtle element it helps to emphasize an underlying message in the song to think beyond the usual frames and narratives that ring in your life out of force of habit even when situations call for greater nuance, understanding and compassion. Every day, John McCabe suggests in his singing, is a chance to get this dynamic right and to inculcate better habits but self-awareness is a good place to start and without judgment. Listen to “The Margin” on Spotify and follow Good at Rockets at the links provided.

goodatrockets.com

John McCabe Sets the Bar of Hope in Anticipation of Life’s Coming Storm at a Realistic Level on “Here Comes the Rain”

John McCabe’s gift for the melancholic, observational ballad remains strong on his first single of 2020, “Here Comes The Rain.” The percussion on the song really helps set the mood with its expressive dynamics that accent the melody in which McCabe seems to come to terms with how life can seem perverse in its ups and downs and in the predictability of how things get better in some way eventually even when you can see the periods of struggle coming down the like. The chorus of “Here comes the rain again, I surrender / the clouds keep rolling by and I know things are going to get better” is Zen-like in its use of imagery as life circumstances and expressing a realistic hope because you’ve been through struggles, setbacks and even disasters before and even when they transform your life in significant ways you do get a reprieve regularly from the worst of it eventually. Fans of R.E.M., Green On Red and Uncle Tupelo will appreciate the way the jangle-y guitar work captures that journey from personal darkness to triumph over it with a hint of world weariness to give the song a little grit. Listen to “Here Comes the Rain” on Soundcloud and follow John McCabe at the links below.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Bg3CG3jKSw7QdcKkFN46w?si=4hPEF5HqSZaZ1redx2iFtQ

johnmccabemusic.com

soundcloud.com/john-mccabe

John McCabe Makes the Information Overload in Our Fractious Age Seem Manageable on His Single “On TV”

JohnMcCabe3_crop — John McCabe “On TV” cover (cropped)

John McCabe sounds like he took a deep dive into early-to-mid 80s Paisley Underground music and jangle pop produced by Mitch Easter, R.E.M. in particular on “On TV.” But like a lot of that music McCabe has some incisive commentary on the absurdities of American and international politics in recent years and the resultant cultural turmoil as institutions seem to be on the verge of collapsing and leaving society in free fall as the human race heads off into the sunset of climate catastrophe. And as part and parcel of that process we are overloaded with insipid information to make wading through the haze of marketing and partisan sophistry too often tied together challenging and tiring for most people. McCabe’s song sounds like a measured approach to this unfortunate situation in world civilization but it also articulates that frustration with economy and poetry and makes it all seem manageable in spite of how overwhelming it can be. Listen to “On TV” on Soundcloud and follow McCabe at the links below.