The Learning Curve Of Eugene McGuinness

Singer songwriters. Every which way you turn there’s another floppy haired whippersnapper clutching a six string and harmonica hoping to be the next Dylan. And there’s been an even bigger influx of these solo wannabes lately. But not just James Blunt-alikes. Crooners that are down with them there kids too. Ones singing about LDN life - yes, that’s you Lily Allen. Blue suede shoe-ing about love-sickness - Jack Peñate anyone? And no longer tip-toe-ing through feminine balladry but doing it warts ‘n’ all – yup, that’d be Kate Nash. Indeed – the times, they are a changin’, and nowadays you need to have something interesting to say if you’re all lonesome up on that stage. Otherwise there’s no point trying.

Eugene McGuiness is a singer songwriter. After all, he writes his own songs then sings them. But as there are so many of these oh so loosely labelled music merchants about what differentiates him from the rest? A lot. For starters he doesn’t sound a thing like any other solo-ers doing the rounds at the moment. “Singer songwriter is such an interesting term,” muses Eugene. “Because - what does that mean now? A couple of years ago if you’d have asked someone what singer songwriter was they would have said like David Gray or Bryan Adams – stuff like that. But now if you’re from London or whatever and you’re a singer songwriter it means like Jamie T and I don’t think I’m that.” So what exactly is Eugene McGuinness? Apart from being a hideously young songsmith (twenty-one years old at last count) who has recently been signed to uber-label Domino (yes, that imprint famed for t’Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand) he’s only been doing this music thang for just over a year.

A year that found him constantly gigging and playing self-confessed rubbish gigs and rubbish songs in his adopted Uni-town of Liverpool. But it was a learning curve. And the London-Irish lad soon found his feet. And Domino discovered him on that great big A&R landscape known as, you guessed it, the interweb. Eugene explains, “Somebody from Domino publishing heard me on MySpace or something and they wanted a CD and that kind of coincided with me graduating.” So no struggling-starving-artist time to perfect his musical wares then? “I just kind of walked out of Uni with my chest out,” laughs Eugene. “Well actually no, I was on the dole for a couple of months whilst it got sorted out so I’m from the streets as well. I’ve got it all,” he jokes.

Indeed it seems he has  Hailing from London, University-ing in Liverpool but being from Irish descent Eugene’s songs have each place imprinted on them. In fact so much so he can even tell exactly where a track was written. “There are certain songs where I know that it was Liverpool and I can picture myself there. The city just got into my blood and there was no way I could avoid it,” he explains. “And there are certain songs that are about London and they’re different.” Different in what way? “I think generally with Liverpool the songs are kind of a bit more woeful. Not that I didn’t like it there, because I loved Liverpool, but a lot of the time I was on my own because I was away from home.” Songs such as his debut single ‘Monsters Under The Bed’ and ‘Bold Street’ are Liverpudlian through and through. The latter being a meandering jingle jangle that mutters of lonesome characters wandering through a never-ending street of solemn. But Eugene ain’t no Thom Yorke in his wordsmanship – this tune’s vibe is more lullaby-esque than slash your wrists sad. Phewf.