The Boy, for the uninitiated, is Colin McLeod, from the Isle of Lewis, and readers who look deeply enough will find that he was – this is going back a bit – once accompanied by ‘The Girl’ – his sister I believe (so that’s The Boy and Girl Who Trapped The Sun’).
Now solo, he is aided and abetted by friends and possibly family, though strings and female vocals are just about the only things he’s not done himself on this debut single. Lead track ‘Home’ is a big production number then for a solo artist – plenty going on even if it draws from obvious sources – Johnny Cash, and another islander and Colin in the Mull Historical Society. Though oddly, the vocal also has a vague Eddie Vedder burr about it.
It’s the rest of the EP though which sums up his solo feel – another boy this time, the Badly Drawn variety, especially in the quirky ‘In The Dark’ and ‘The Fox’. Another pal, Ed Harcourt this time, co-writes and produces ‘Lying To Get On Your Good Side’ , its fingerpicked guitar giving a decided vintage feel to a fresh new talent.