Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It is almost possible to see the cogs whirring round and the musical knowledge come pouring out in a steam of fervoured imagination as you listen to Thomas McConnell’s latest digital single, Please Don’t Slow Me Down and Crocodile.

It is that high intense of concentration and wit that stirs the soul of many a creative mind, the ability to get under the skin of a flowering thought and give it room to breathe, to expand and be adored that marks the difference between someone who puts their ideas out to tender and those who believe they have an unalienable right to stand on a stage infront of thousands just because they can sing quite well. For Thomas McConnell, like so many of his generation and special quality, is the hammer, the thorn in the side against limp and stained commercialism. The difference that sets the two camps apart is passion in the soul, it is not for fame or glory but for getting a message across, that’s what makes Please Don’t Slow Me Down and Crocodile two songs in which to savour and keep close.

There is a lot going on in the background to the two songs, the uniqueness of voice, so easily recognised and honed against a backdrop of troubles that has infested the world with the touch of a Scouse voice that wouldn’t have been out of place in the other two great periods of Liverpool music, the heyday of the 1960s and the craftsmanship and wonderful anger of the 1980s. The songs owe a debt perhaps to Ian McNabb who has proudly professed his protégé to the music listener far and wide. However, Mr.          McConnell is his own man, his own musician and the new songs reflect that, they have a softness of inflection that soaks up the underlying plea of solitude that runs underneath.

The two songs whilst sounding different in delivery still maintain a bond between musician and audience. Far too often an artist can release a single song that doesn’t capture the essence of the performer or the way they really sound. Too many bands fall into that trap but it has to be said that Thomas McConnell neatly side steps the pitfall and error strew passage and lights a series of beacons in which others hopefully will take notice of.

Please Don’t Slow Me Down and Crocodile are two very enjoyable songs, two songs that allow the listener to think and trust in the artist rather than just capturing a brief allotment of time. You can ask for nothing more!

Ian D. Hall