Album Review: Jim McShee - The Coffin Nail

UK Release: 11/02/12 - Independent

Smooth old Jim McShee is taking the town of Stoke-on-Trent by the scruff of the neck and instilling them with the sounds of modern country blues. The Coffin Nail EP is an easily accessible six-tracker expressing classic early 20^th century American guitar playing and husky lyrics. If blues is your thing or you fancy some feel good listening, the twenty-year-old might just be what you're looking for.

Hand-tapping opener 'Slaughter Hill' sets you in place perfectly to know what to expect. The opening trio of guitar notes sink you into the repetitive riff before the typical lyrics of lonesome journeys commence. Although it fails to provide a climactic moment, the simple pleasantness aimlessly rolls on by successfully uninterrupted.

Empathy is felt from the pain in the sombre words of 'I welcome death so gratefully' and 'hell is a place I would rather be'. The depressing motion of death is welcomed in a habitual manner. McShee again uses a simplistic riff to focus our attention to the agonising lyrics in 'Good Old Days Gone By'. The unchanged tempo implies a contentment and acceptance of his lyrics.

Courtesy of Jim McShee, The Coffin Nail EP

McShee's 'Helping Hand' and 'Oh Faithful' seem to lack the emotional substance and texture the remainder of the EP possesses. The two tracks have proven it difficult to maintain a consistent strength across a piece of work which uses minimal instrumentation to keep the listener from falling away.

The staccato strum downs in 'Bloody Knuckle Blues' help provide a memorable line with 'one punch, two punch, three punch, four' in the catchy chorus. The rough vocals contrast well with the clean-cut, head-nodding strumming.

A gravely American-twinged McShee closes with 'The Coffin Nail Blues'. And how could we have a country inspired EP without some religious references? 'And now the church bells ring / and the choirs sing' opens the final track where the running theme of 'a coffin nail' is put to bed. He tells that 'the closest thing to love that I ever did see / is that coffin nail drive a hole through me'. He speaks of regret and sorrow to sum up a lyrically dark EP. The hidden track has the final say, implementing a positive and hopeful feel about the relationship between a man and a woman. The cycle continues...

Rating: 6/10

Below is the track listing for The Coffin Nail:

1. Slaughter Hill
2. Good Old Days Gone By
3. Helping Hand
4. Oh Faithful
5. Bloody Knuckle Blues
6. The Coffin Nail Blues

You can buy Jim McShee's The Coffin Nail from iTunes now.

Below is the Studio Diary for the EP: