Calum MacDonald - Songs From The Grove
Australian singer-songwriter Calum MacDonald is an assured lyricist with the confidence to write about the things he cares about, whether it's love and regret, or social matters. He does so in a gentle, unhurried style that draws listeners into his tales. On his website he cites mainly contemporary influences such as Bonnie Prince Billy, Bill Callaghan and Ron Sexsmith, but for me, his words, his poetry (the album is bookended by two spoken word pieces) and very occasionally his voice, all bring Leonard Cohen's early work to mind.

I'm sure it's a comparison MacDonald wont object to, especially as "Songs From The Grove" is hardly in thrall to any single stimulus and his songs stand up to proper scrutiny. My favourites, "Shaky 48" with its driving folk rhythm and lyrical excursions, the '70s West Coast affectation of "Earth" and the borrowed Dylan(isms) of "Feel Like Another Cup Of Coffee" all indicate a singer-songwriter slightly out of time, but that neither detracts from the quality of his verses or listener satisfaction. Have a listen if you get the chance.

Rob F. (Leicester Bangs - UK)

"24 Hours A Day 7 Days A Week" reviewed by

Trad and Now Magazine - CD Review by Chris Spencer

This ep consists of 4 whimsical tracks, featuring MacDonald with nothing more than an acoustic guitar, strummed very lightly at that! The opening track, “Morroco” (sic) clocks in at less than 2 minutes, reminding me of the work of Hans Poulsen. His voice is reedy, the songs slowish and very laid back. Track 2 “They Don’t Always Die” is about about succeeding in achieving a dream; The epic centrepiece of the ep is “Where Will You Sleep Tonight” is about homelessness; the last track, a love song, “Sadness in Our Eyes” is even slower and more melancholy than the previous tracks, evoking comparisons of Cat Stevens! Here we can hear the pathos exemplified by the squeaking of the guitar strings as Calum changes chords.

I’m not sure if I could sustain listening to a whole album, for if I had been using this ep as a sampler of my work, I might have included a couple of tunes that were different in rhythm and style. Of interest to those of you who are into acoustic singersongwriters.

"Life And Other Roses" reviewed by Jim Testa
Review Cd reviews

Fans of traditional folk will warm to this 5-song EP by Calum MacDonald, which features little else besides MacDonald's earthy, mid-range vocals and acoustic guitar. Although his voice has a far more mellifluous quality than Bob Dylan's pinched, nasal drawl, MacDonald often mimics Dylan's phrasing and diction, especially from the Blood On The Tracks-era songs that chronicled the heartbreak at the end of a marriage. As a songwriter, MacDonald
also shares Dylan's penchant for major key melodies and inspired couplets; both love intricate wordplay and rhyming.
With a weary air of resignation, MacDonald begins the EP with "Coffee In Birmingham," a song about the long, sad days "after love has left you to wander this world alone." MacDonald's voice has just the right air of craggy, beaten-down despair as he recalls his doomed affair with a nice bit of rhyming wordplay: "Coffee in Birmingham, champagne in Amsterdam, now I'm here with Uncle Sam, wondering why you went away." Almost as if mocking the pop
songs that blithely celebrate love, MacDonald fades out with a bitter "na na na" refrain. A lovely, but again, melancholy, guitar intro starts "Someone I'll Never Know," with MacDonald gracefully picking out the melody while strumming folk chords. "You're everywhere I go, in the quietest moments I know," he sings, again invoking a Dylanesque couplet to drive home the song's plaintive message. Younger singers could learn a thing or two here about how to communicate regret and heartbreak without sounding self-obsessed or whining. As MacDonald tells us of this woman who keeps herself just out of reach, "someone I'll never know," while still stealing a piece of his soul, he makes us feel his pain without asking us to feel sorry for him, a nice emotional juggling trick.
Nothing's changed on "Time Moves On," as MacDonald pines for love that got away, this time adding just a hint of bluesy jazz to the mix. And again, the songwriting is distinguished by MacDonald's facility for graceful interior rhyme schemes ("there are moments when/dear old friends/move on again/once the meaning ends") as well as an achingly sad melody. It's just a subtle addition, but there's a second acoustic guitar on "Words," gently responding to the lead line plucked on the first, as MacDonald croons to a simple country melody. "It's only words that lie between us, only words that keep us apart." The track has a lilting, almost lullaby quality, reminiscent of Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay."
Appropriately, the album ends with a track entitled "Goodbye Goodbye," hewing faithfully to the themes of misbegotten love and missed opportunities, of a love not meant to be. MacDonald shows he's a wonderfully expressive
singer here, infusing even a simple "uh-huh" with a wealth of sadness, regret, and acceptance. And his twinned rhyming verses create a soothing rhythmic tapestry that helps dull the sting of heartbreak.
Calum MacDonald is a concise and disciplined songwriter, and within just a few brief verses he can conjure up stories that make you feel as if you've known the people in his songs for years. When he decided to title this collection Life And Other Roses, clearly he was thinking about the thorns. Yes, life stings. Sometimes you even bleed. But through it all, you are at least feeling something. In the end, isn't that how we all know we're truly alive?
Reviewed by Jim Testa
Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)