Tragical History Tour is the acoustic solo endeavour of Derrick Johnston, the gentleman behind Scottish DIY punk label Make-That-A-Take Records, Book Yer Ane Fest and numerous bands including Uniforms, Joey Terrifying and Shitgripper. Derrick has been hard at work on his long awaited debut album, Aphorisms, that is being co-released on MTAT and Aaahh!! Real Records. To wet our appetite before the LP release Derrick has released a new EP named Old Words which features one track from Aphorisms and three live in session recordings.
The EP's opener is also its title track, Old Words. The first thing that will strike you when you listen to the song is Derrick's thick Scottish accent mixed in with a rough, growling vocal style. The contrast in the vocal style and the soft acoustic guitar at the beginning of the song is quite striking and really grabs your ears. The tempo of the song is quickly raised and that is when Old Words really comes into its own, with the chorus really standing out and making me want to sing along passionately. Gratitude is a song that is equal parts heartbreaking and uplifting. Which is kind of a weird sentence to write. It's about getting over a terrible break up and somehow finding the strength to move on and attempt to heal from a broken heart. I was completely captivated by this song from beginning to end. Derrick's vocals give the song so much realism. You hear so many pop stars writing break up songs with their clean, super produced cookie cutter vocals - none of those voices will get to you like Derrick's will. Knowing Derrick, I'm certain that he wouldn't want anybody to go through this pain but at least there is now a song out there that anyone who needs it can relate to and hopefully find some positives from the situation. The third track, This Is My Rifle, is another about struggling with life and all of the stresses that come with it but finding an escape. Again Derrick's voice is completley captivating, when he sings nothing else in the room matters as he has your undivided attention. This is another song that could really get a crowd in a basement or backroom of a pub singing along passionately. The track's finale is such a fine piece of songwriting. I love the lyrics "Celebrating Life In My Own Way, Don't Waste Your Time Every Time You Pray, If You're Chasing Light, Live For Today." Last up is Father's Day. This is a much more up-tempo song than the three previous. It's a deeply personal song about the dealing with the aftermath of his father's death. Derrick sings about having to deal with all of horrible administrative things that comes with the death of a loved one and finding the strength to keep going forward despite the grief that he is dealing with. It's another really sad song about a difficult time in his life and finding ways to help yourself deal with the pain. Like writing a song about the situation. What else would a punk do?
Old Words is a superb release. Probably by favourite so far from Tragical History Tour. The is honest, passionate, raw, heartbreaking but also empowering stuff. Everything acoustic punk rock should be. This is got me salivating to hear Aphorisms when it's finally released.
Stream and download Old Words here: https://tragicalhistorytour.bandcamp.com/album/old-words-ep
Like Tragical History Tour here: https://www.facebook.com/tragicalhistorytour
This review was written by Colin Clark.
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