Graham MacRae
Gig Seeker Pro

Graham MacRae

Band Pop Singer/Songwriter

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Folk You Thursday"

As any student of Napoleon Hill knows, if you visualize success, you can achieve it. Los Angeles singer-songwriter Graham MacRae’s “Voice And Guitar” seems to manifest this teaching at its core; his lyrics simply brimming with great expectations. “Imagine all the ears that you’ll impact with just your voice and guitar,” he sings. It’s the fantasy every musician has when they think too hard. And it’s this over-analytical hope that gives the song its charm.

But we all know what happens to best laid plans. By the chorus, he shows hesitant hope: “I’ve got this feeling that you’re gonna make it/And that you’ll go really farrr.” There’s nothing certain in his plan by this point, it’s just a feeling. Whether purposeful or not, there’s a disconnect between the voice and music. MacRae’s fingerpicking is fluid and pretty, but his vocals, which he double-tracked, stray from the melody here and there. Also, there’s the ghostly background vocals singing, “Gonna make it,” during the chorus. But perhaps most emblematic of the lyrics’ faltering hope is that by song's end, the drums become the most mesmerizing part. Perhaps this song needs a sequel, so we know whether there’s a Hollywood ending or not. - Paper Thin Walls


"FensePost - FEATURE BAND"

The cover art to Graham MacRae’s recent self-titled release looks fit for a Belle And Sebastian album, but his music is more reminiscent of Bonnie “Prince” Billy or a José González. “Who Will You Be Talking To” stands out with harmony vocals and lightly finger-picked guitar melodies. The folky minimalism is calming and true to the genre, yet maintains a subtle off-and-on relationship with pop.

“Wedding Wind” focuses on MacRae’s ability to craft a beautiful acoustic instrumental gem. As the tune caries on, your thoughts tend to drift and when the next song comes in with vocals, an extremely powerful effect will wash over you. The short and sweet “Things Couldn’t Be Better” definitely lives up to its name while “Voice And Guitar” also includes rare percussion. - FensePost


"Short Takes"

Graham MacRae takes a refreshingly unvarnished approach to his eponymous debut. The troubadour’s stripped-down, primarily acoustic folk tunes jibe musically with the sounds put forth by artists like Iron & Wine or Elliott Smith. Yet, MacRae’s unwillingness to blunt any of his rougher edges distinguish his sound; at times drums, guitars or even MacRae’s vocals cut through otherwise pastoral textures with a force that is surprising yet ultimately breathes fresh life into what might otherwise be a relatively typical singer-songwriter record. Case in point: on the tune “Forty Winks”, MacRae turns a lover’s lullaby into a creative vocal exercise, making the most of every syllable and emphasizing them to an unusual yet inventive degree. Other tracks that best indicate MacRae’s technique include “Future Days” and “Things Couldn’t Be Better.” And, just because MacRae can sound a little more gruff or bold than the average folkie doesn’t preclude him from crafting something as lilting and gorgeous as the instrumental “Wedding Wind”, which splits the album beautifully. The album is well-constructed, each song a bit different yet retaining enough common characteristics to be a complimentary part. On “Voice and Guitar”, MacRae sings of an artist who will “impact” a number of years with just those instruments; while MacRae fleshes his album out with a few other sounds, he might well be prophesying his own effect. He is an artist who sounds sure to have an impact on those who experience his work. - Pop Matters


"Eagle Rocks!!"

There is no denying that in his deft finger-picking style Californian Macrae has listened to huge amounts of John Fahey records and shares that visionary’s approach to song writing and resulting aural unease. It clearly has done the Eagle Rock native no harm at all as this self-titled debut album is a corker and a record that, like Fahey, rewards repeated listening. The opening “I Can’t Trust You” sets the tone (if not sound) for much of the album, Macrae’s instantly self-assured vocal cutting through all manner of beeps and bleeps going on in the background. Over that melange of sounds is the oddly mesmeric and impressively dextrous finger-picking. It just draws you in, helpless in a way and utterly charmed yet unable to ever feel totally comfortable. Things tend to strip down as the record proceeds. “Future Days” is authentic lo-fi roots while “Oh How He Knew” echoes the more adventurous Iron And Wine soirees. Production is sharp and measured and choice of material throughout is of the highest order. Lyrically Macrae has an edge, a certain weirdness and ‘out there’ perception that is both charming and easy on the senses – more a sixties sensitivity as opposed to seventies whimsy. - Americana UK


"Pop Matters"

Graham MacRae takes a refreshingly unvarnished approach to his eponymous debut. The troubadour’s stripped-down, primarily acoustic folk tunes jibe musically with the sounds put forth by artists like Iron & Wine or
Elliott Smith

. Yet, MacRae’s unwillingness to blunt any of his rougher edges distinguish his sound; at times drums, guitars or even MacRae’s vocals cut through otherwise pastoral textures with a force that is surprising yet ultimately breathes fresh life into what might otherwise be a relatively typical singer-songwriter record. Case in point: on the tune “Forty Winks”, MacRae turns a lover’s lullaby into a creative vocal exercise, making the most of every syllable and emphasizing them to an unusual yet inventive degree. Other tracks that best indicate MacRae’s technique include “Future Days” and “Things Couldn’t Be Better.” And, just because MacRae can sound a little more gruff or bold than the average folkie doesn’t preclude him from crafting something as lilting and gorgeous as the instrumental “Wedding Wind”, which splits the album beautifully. The album is well-constructed, each song a bit different yet retaining enough common characteristics to be a complimentary part. On “Voice and Guitar”, MacRae sings of an artist who will “impact” a number of years with just those instruments; while MacRae fleshes his album out with a few other sounds, he might well be prophesying his own effect. He is an artist who sounds sure to have an impact on those who experience his work. - Pop Matters


Discography

On Your Marks - EP
Self Titled - LP

Radio airplay: KEXP song of the day, XM Radio podcast, CILU (Thunder Bay ONT), CJLO (Montreal, QC), CJSW (Calgary, AB), KALX (Berkeley, CA), KAMP (Tucson, AZ), KBEACH (Long Beach, CA), KBUT (Crested Butte, CO), KCRW (Santa Monica, CA), KCSU (Fort Collins, CO), KFAI (Minneapolis, MN), KGLT (Bozeman, MT), KHNS (Haines, AK), KHSU (Arcata, CA), KLPI (Ruston, LA), KNDS (Fargo, ND), KNOM (Nome, AK), KRUI (Iowa City, IA), KTCU (Fort Worth, TX), KUMD (Duluth, MN), KUNI (Cedar Falls, IA), KUOI (Moscow, ID), KWCR (Ogden, UT), KWCW (Walla Walla, WA), KWUR (St. Louis, MO), KXZY (Stillwater, OK), KZFR (Chico, CA), KZSC (Santa Cruz, CA), Lasell College Radio (Newton, MA), SCAD Radio (Atlanta, GA), WDCE (Richmond, VA), WDOM (Providence, RI), WEGL (Auburn, AL), WGBK (Glenview, IL), WIRE (Norman, OK), WMUC (College Park, MD), WOUB (Athens, OH), WPKN (Bridgeport, CT), WSYC (Shippensburg, PA), WUML (Lowell, MA), WUSR (Scranton, PA), WVUA (Tuscaloosa, AL), WVUD (Newark, DE), WVUR (Valparaiso, IN)

Photos

Bio

LA based singer-songwriter Graham MacRae started on the guitar when he was 13, played in some bands throughout college and recorded a one-man 4 track cassette album in 1998, but it wasn't until recently that he hit upon the fingerpicking style that guided his newest musical direction, evident in his vulnerable but sinewy self titled new LP. Influenced by everything from Jimmy Page to John Fahey (and a creeping fascination with the works of Eno and Robert Wyatt), MacRae eschewed the traditional singer songwriter tropes of strumming chords for something more complex and less confining. Explains MacRae: "Fingerpicking feels mathematical. It feels like something to figure out. I want my songs to be fun to play, and I really don't find most strumming very compelling. I don't want to make that strummy singer-songwriter-y coffee shop stuff." After diving back into music after a period of inactivity, MacRae has been fingerpicking almost exclusively. Adds MacRae, "Now when I pick up an electric guitar I feel like I almost don't even know what to do with it."