I love being surprised by music, particularly as I so rarely am. There is some great Pop around at present, be it Power Pop or Indie, you just have to root for it. You are certainly not going to fall over it or hear it on TV or Radio.
I appreciate it even more when it's close to home and so Chris Mullin's Myself Fooling Me is quite a revelation to these ears. Chris is co-songwriter for The Sums who continued from Noel Gallagher darlings Smaller.
The Sums continue to spread the spirit of Brit Pop, but the band are so electric that these stripped down solo songs caught me off guard. I can see why they wouldn't necessarily fit on a Sums album, but I'm delighted that they've finally seen the light of day.
There's a melodic rawness to all six songs and the man can certainly bring a hook to the proceedings. There's even Jazz tints on the likes of Colour Of Pain and Folk on Who Took The Beat and throughout you get surprised by an unexpected arrangement or instrumental break.
The real gem though is the closer, Myself Fooling Me. Paul McCartney worked on the song with Mullin during a One To One Jamming Session and contributed both the Mid 8 and the title. It's a haunting song with a wonderful Psych Pop accompaniment.
Chris Mullin is a busy boy with his commitments as bass player in Hurricane #1 and The Sums, but more EP's are planned throughout the year. I can't wait, this first one is exceptional. It's great melodic pop.
The EP is available from all the major download retaillers. You can also buy it from the solo Bandcamp page here.
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