What is hope? It's that unquenchable human optimism, a light inside of us that never goes out. But specifically, 'Hope' is a painting by New York artist Mediaeater. In the past year, this canvas has travelled round the world with Colin MacIntyre, the gifted solo songwriter/producer who records as Mull Historical Society. The painting has been a lucky charm, symbolising the man from Mull's fresh start: new label, new single, new album. And while he might be just one man, the Society already stretches around the world. Colin's got two terrific records under his belt, of course.
Mull Historical Society's bewitching 2001 debut album "Loss" marked the arrival of a major new musical talent, and was home to both the heart-bursting sugar-rush of Watching Xanadu and the soft, six-minute ache of Barcode Bypass. The 2003 follow-up,"Us", was equally, awkwardly beautiful; another sweet haul of haywire pop that seemed perfectly at home in the Top 20 of the albums chart, helped along by the chiming hit "The Final Arrears" and "Don't Take Your Love Away From Me", the sort of soul-cleansing ballad Robbie Williams could only ever dream of singing, let alone actually writing.
"Us was about me and what was going on in my life," explains Colin. "But since last summer, I've really opened things out. Everything has been a source: newspapers, books, art. I've been grabbing at things and stealing from places."
Prometea, the world's first cloned horse, was a major inspiration for This Is Hope, sparking off questions of science and progress in Colin's head whilst he was on holiday in Italy. It was the start of a year-long creative journey that took in everything from exploring New Orleans to the suicide of Doctor David Kelly. In Colin's own words, this is a record about life-fabrics: hope, love, death, time, science, man, woman, machine, war, community, ethics, genetics, metaphysics and evolution. It sounds like a lot to pack in, but the concept remained clear.
"This Is Hope" has always been a really strong vision, something I could almost grasp," he explains. "
I almost knew what it was going to look like and sound like before I even had the songs. It's just felt like the most natural process."
After recording his last two albums in Glasgow, Colin compiled This Is Hope during an intense three-week recording burst in London studio The Strongroom. Since he was responsible for producing the record and playing most of the instruments - from bass guitar to banging beer kegs - preparation was hugely important. "I felt almost like an athlete honing myself for a big game," he remembers, "or an actor stepping up for a big part."
The result is an album that manages to combine a starburst of ideas with a leaner sound, particularly noticeable on the sinewy opening track Peculiar. But fans of Colin's endlessly inventive approach to sonic science needn't worry; the rest of This Is Hope features a whole range of found sounds, including a lusty singalong from a MHS gig, a monologue from Colin's grandmother and three sisters recorded on mini-disc in the back streets of New Orleans singing a gospel chorus. And that's all in the same song!
Appropriately for a record conceived all over the world, the album was eventually mixed over in upstate New York, a near rival to Scotland for raw, rugged beauty. And Colin's found a home for that painting 'Hope'; it has pride of place on the wall of his new Glasgow base. So what happens next? There's the single, the irresistible, chiming "How 'Bout I Love You More" and a return to touring, this time with an extra-special mascot: a 13-foot-high bewigged dog big enough for Colin to sit inside. This enormous pooch will be making her T in the Park debut in July; for Colin, it will be his fourth year in a row; a feat no other artist has ever managed.
There's also quiet progress on his novel and numerous short stories - Colin's even toying with the idea of putting together a musical. But what's important, right now, is this album; his most accomplished and intriguing to date, a brand-new staging post on Mull Historical Society's continuing recruitment drive. This is something special. This Is Hope.
www.mullhistoricalsociety.com