Woody Guthrie famously added a label to his acoustic guitar declaring "This machine kills fascists". Scottish born singer songwriter, Tom Conway (now based in Cambridge) has less overtly political intentions. His slogans range from the bleeding obvious ("This machine makes music") to an affirmative ("This machine kills cliches") to a caveat ("This machine has no confession to make").
Thankfully, the last of these is not an excuse for blandness or apathy but is merely consistent with his Blog statement that : "I do not write songs about my soul in torment".
What he does write are well observed songs about being in or out of relationships with a very British sense of irony.
His sharp eye and self deprecating wit is demonstrated on You Never Said A Word (a "corny old school rhinestone cowboy country song") or on The One That Got Away which opens with the un-PC lines: "Apparently it's widely known that all men have a dream /Preferably blonde and buxom and short on self esteem".
He is at his best, however, when keeping a straight face. In Your Own Words is the kind of break up song Loudon Wainwright III would be proud of ( "I recognise the silence, I've heard to all before" ) and The Paper You Brought Home is a song where humdrum domestic details suggest a more profound theme of the loss of innocence. It's a song which, for me, remains intriguingly enigmatic - which is another way of saying that I don't get all the references but I love it anyway! His assured reworking of the traditional tune 'Black Snake In My Room' is another highlight.
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The weaknesses of the album lie in the poor production values and Tom Conway's over eagerness to show off his versatility. His affection for old style country music is evident but the songs in this genre struck me as unconvincing pastiches which detract from the stronger material.
Overall, I think this would be a much better record if he stuck to one main style, preferably folk, and dispensed with the novelty tunes.
Despite its flaws it is clear that 'this machine means business'.
Tom Conway's website
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