Liam McClair releases ‘Fix It’, a cry of hope for lasting relationships in this ever-changing modern world.
In the last single and title track of his latest EP, the singer-songwriter from Wilmslow displays once more a genuine knowledge of the acoustic pop genre and doesn’t let the song flounder in endless pools of production that a musician can so easily fall in nowadays. His raw reverb-less voice and a Dylan-esque guitar pattern are the main engine of the song and are supported by a smooth piano, an ambient synth and an occasional kick, later reinforced by claps.
There is really no space for anything else in a song that talks about fixing the problems you are faced with. Referring to the frailty and inconsistency of modern human relationships—the now famous ‘liquid love’ term coined by Bauman—McClair refuses to fix his song with anything else other than the song itself, and lets it go out there into the cold world wide web with just its message and an organic production for a shield.
McClair’s early influences such as James Morrisson and Paolo Nutini can be heard if one is familiar with these artists, but McClair’s singularity lies on the unhurried delivery of his lines. “Paper the cracks, smooth the plaster/ no going back and in the face of disaster/ I know we can fix it” is a great example of this unrushed pace. Note the lexic choice: the wallpaper will only last temporarily, sooner or later it will need a change; and plaster is not the hardest material to cover something with: to repair the hardships of a relationship like this is really is the recipe for disaster, however… let’s fix it again.
The ‘Fix It’ EP is out now via Run & Hide Records – and available to purchase on iTunes here.
