The name may be unfamiliar but the sound is very much that of ballboy – a Scottish band who recorded five albums and as many Peel Sessions in the early noughties.
Conceived during lockdown, the ten tracks on the from the band’s frontman muse on nature and the world around us, McIntyre’s clever wordplay delivered in his Edinburgh burr, whether over delicate acoustic guitar, or buoyed by tinkling piano and sweeping string flourishes as well as the odd electronic wibble.
The album’s title is a little misleading, the only ‘other’ here being Alexa Morrison, on keys and an affecting, end-of-the-world duet on ‘Red Horses Racing’.
McIntyre’s first release under his own name may lack the towering indiepop sonic assaults of his other bandmates – but fans of the quieter parts of their back catalogue will be well pleased.
This article originally appeared in the Portsmouth News.