track of the week | 'nothing more than'

Name: Halfmoon Bay

Genre: Low-Fi // Acoustic
For Fans Of: Bright Eyes, Aaron Shanley, The Front Bottoms
Location: Belfast
Facebook//Twitter | n/a

Halfmoon Bay is a wonderfully unlikely affair.

The side project of The Bayonette's charismatic frontman Danny McClelland, it see's the vocalist swap his Jaguar for an acoustic and his angular riffs, for delicate chord changes; with startling results. The track in question here, 'Nothing More Than' channels Morrissey levels of poetic honesty, his prose beautiful in it's simplicity. The low-fi fuzz which accompanies McClelland's sparse vocal gives the track a mid-90's American feel, his pain evident, haunting even.

Line's like 'It's something you could appreciate, if you were alive' give this track it's special quality, as if it's been plucked straight out of the subconscious of The Mountain Goat's John Darnielle. That said, 'Nothing More Than' is no maudlin homage to America's Poetic-Indie scene and stands strong on it's own. McClelland's voice never wavers, nor is it ever overcome by emotion. This is a maudlin song, but somewhere amongst the Scott Pilgrim like charm, lies a comforting bridge between sadness and hope. This is a song to sit and watch the sun go up alongside. To never leave your bedroom with.

Though it's not been confirmed if 'Nothing More Than' will be re-recorded for Halfmoon Bay's debut EP (coming soon), it certainly paints a promising picture. Til then, we wait.

Taylor Johnson