Lonely Tourist, originally a resident of Scotland but having decamped to the Bristol area some years ago, has been releasing music for a good few years and is an isthismusic.com favourite. This track is another slice of wry strummery and wordplay from a past and present master of the craft.
Starting with a nice wee guitar/piano introduction, we soon get into the bones of this tale, and the acoustic guitar strumming… There is also a nice bass, probably a keyboard, and a series of lovely minor chords build up to the chorus.
An archly-constructed short story of a song, it tells the tale of a departed former work colleague recently deceased. It has a slightly quaint pre-Covid narrative with references to “them upstairs” and the laughs and japes shared by colleagues in physical proximity to one another. Stationery plays quite a large role and the phrase “using the dead man’s stapler” is repeated several times.
The vocals are quite delicate, a wee bit King Creosote (in a good way) – and the song ends with a great final chord sequence on piano, almost a bit funereal, which is apt given the subject matter.
For pen-pushers everywhere.
- The Dougies - 6 March 2025
- Constant Follower / Withered Hand - 28 February 2025
- The Boo Radleys / Keeley / The Martial Arts - 21 February 2025