M G Boulter: Clifftown

M G Boulter – Clifftown

Hudson Records – 23 April 2021

With a sound and vision reminiscent of Paul Simon, and a narrative landscape that takes place in the faded seaside landscape of a fictional Clifftown, M G Boulter’s new release is a thoroughly intoxicating listen.

Despite being a name still relatively unfamiliar to many, M G Boulter has been steadily making a considerable name for himself over the last few years. Early work with The Lucky Strikes, Simone Felice, Blue Rose Code and Emily Portman proved a fruitful experience and has undoubtedly helped to colour Boulter’s suburban folk and Americana vibe.

Boulter’s debut, The Water or the Wave emerged back in 2013 and featured legendary drummer Pick Withers (Dire Straits, Bob Dylan & Bert Jansch), whilst follow up, With Wolves the Lamb will Lie, came out in 2016. His latest album, Clifftown, tells a series of narratives set in the landscape of the title and is loosely based on Boulter’s own home of Southend-on-Sea. Clifftown takes place in a landscape flavoured by the fashion of 1950s USA, but instead of a bright neon vision, think of the intimate, splendidly dull world of British photographer Martin Parr.

Clifftown has been a little while in gestation. The album was originally recorded in May 2019, whilst track ‘Pilate’ was recorded in 2016 as a studio session and, essentially, provided the spark for the formation of Hudson Records. The album may have taken a little stroll to get here but it has very much been well worth the wait.

It is a somewhat jaded seaside resort that Boulter introduces us to, well past its glory days and still soaked in the culture of British seaside suburbia. Boulter’s landscape is paint peeled, cold and run down. Despite its melancholia, it is, however, an ever-hopeful setting.

Handsomely produced by Andy Bell, Clifftown has a gorgeously evocative sound, and Boulter is well accompanied by some notable names, including Pete Flood (Bellowhead) on drums and percussion, Lizzy O’Connor on mandolin and guitar, Paul Ambrose on bass, Tom Lenthall on synth, Helen Bell on violin and Lucy Farrell (Furrow Collective) and Neil McSweeney on voice. Boulter himself is no slouch here, providing voice, guitar, and mandolin.

‘Midnight Movies’ opens the album with some mellow, hypnotic guitar, before introducing the softly spoken, gentle voice of Boulter. In its thoughtful poetry, it recalls the lyrical visions of Boo Hewerdine or perhaps Justin Currie and is a thoroughly enchanting introduction to what is a rather enthralling listen.

‘Soft White Belly’ is a more rocky, bellicose song, even though if it’s fight is coated in self-delusion. It’s a bittersweet song; of times gone and happy memories. A song grieving for the bygone whilst waiting for an uncertain future.

This sense of passing time, of opportunities missed and lamented is certainly felt in title track ‘Clifftown’. Boulter sings of “kids grow old and move away from home”, of taxi drivers “hungry for fares”, and of the Co-op being the only shop open on a Sunday. The record is a beautifully redolent listen. It’s an authentic picture of the silent, frustrated world of out-of-season resorts; of growing up in a world of promise and never quite achieving. It’s a song about the lacklustre resignation to our fate.

In his lyrics and musicality, Paul Simon is, naturally, an influence that springs to mind here. You can hear it in Boulter’s soft, sing-song voice, and the rhymes of his writing. ‘Nights At the Aquarium’ certainly recalls the poetry and self-awareness of Simon.

The song contrasts the transformative magic of visiting the local aquarium, of “aqua blue, dreams subterranean. You see the fishes look magnificent, so colourful and innocent”. The joy of the experience is contrasted by the image of girls crying on a train, of the narrator’s job cleaning houses, of individuals not knowing what they want from their lives and of time passing, of lamenting the loss of hope and dreams: “I thought I would be so much more. Not older with debts I cannot afford”. There is quite hope here too, however forlorn it may be, as Boulter sings “I think I could be colourful and innocent too”.

Simon’s shadow is present too in ‘The Slow Decline’. “She wanted to be an actress, but ended up entertainment in a theme park instead” sings Boulter in a song with a focus on lost dreams, inherent sadness, and slow decline. There is no pastiche here though, Boulter’s world is as rich and as engaging as Simon’s and provides a beautifully sincere and knowing voice. Boulter owns his own world and an honest and heartbreakingly truthful one it is too.

‘Simon of Sudbury’ sees a brief jaunt out of Clifftown. It’s the story of a visit to St Gregory Church at Sudbury in Suffolk where the head of Simon Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1375 until 1381, is kept. The song ponders on the story of Simon, contrasting it with our own. It questions our own fates and where we might tread.

Closing track, ‘Pilate’, originated as a collective session. It is the largest track on the album and features some rather special guests, including some other Hudson stablemates such as Sam Sweeney on violin and Rob Harbron on bass. It’s a rather dreamy conclusion.

Throughout the album are nods to the authentic experience of growing up and living in a drowsy seaside town. Boulter sings of nights out, neon and arcades. Despite the strong flavour of Americana, this is undoubtedly a rainy, slightly down-at-heel seaside experience and very British in its language. Boulter sings, for example, of visiting the shops rather than the grocery store.

There is no cynicism here though. Despite the narrator’s acquiescence it is clear there is a love of their home. Listen to ‘Night Worker’ with its tale of a journey to work through the moonlit city, passing drunk girls with stilettos in their hand; “And nobody loves you and maybe nobody hears”. It is, despite its melancholy, a song about love. About affection and belonging. “You love each like your child and you hold them dear”. In many ways this is at the root of Boulter’s superb song writing. It may be a stagnant, dying world, but it is a world that belongs to the narrator. It is his world, and perfectly captures the poetry of everyday life in this muted, fading town.

Superbly performed by Boulter and guests, with some rather gorgeous melodies and considered poetic song writing, Boulter has delivered a rather special album, one which deserves attention. Clifftown is a haunting listen.

Stay awhile in Clifftown. Let its poignancy flow over you. Its quiet grandeur will gently seep into your soul. Welcome it.