The title (and also introductory) track from the album is an astounding way to set things all off. He begins the journey by setting the scene and letting you know why the LP is called "Blame Miss Barclay" ... from then on, the school-esque theme is set in your mind and, the fact that it's all a massive journey, really does make a lot of sense.The successful and sure singles all make perfect appearances and you'll find the familiarity of it all brilliant. The likes of Dirty Rider, Good Feeling, Summer In The City and Chairman Of The Bored are all well within the listing and, despite being the more lively tracks of the bunch, they all fit swimmingly.
This track has a lot of deep connections with Mikill's past, which came as a bit of a shock to us to be honest. We've become used to comical, clever and catchy tracks from Mikill so to hear about the pains in his past really did make this record particularly interesting. We're not sure that some people will be able to grasp tracks such as Lucky or Rooftops as they don't necessarily have the same chirpiness about them as the released singles ... but we think the reality in them more than makes up for the slowness.
Our favorite tracks on this album have to be Chairman Of The Bored, Blame Miss Barclay, Roll On, and Straight To The Bottom. Chairman Of The Bored is an obvious one and, quite easily the best single he chose to release. It's catchiness is beyond comprehension and the success he obtained from it was more than deserved.
Blame Miss Barclay has a grittiness about it that we absolutely love. It still fits in with the singles that Mikill has got us geared up for, but the difference comes in its realness ... we love that and giving us a snippet right at the start is, as always with MP, a genius idea.
Roll On has to be one of the best tracks we've heard this year. We love the chilled out vibe, the chorus is particularly powerful, the ska element immense and, the fact that there's almost a Reverend & The Makers-esque feel behind it all really does sit well with us.
Straight To The Bottom brings back the cheekiness right at the end and, we feel, really suits Mikill. We wouldn't be too shocked if this was released eventually as it really has the Rizzle Kicks side about it ... and we feel that, given that this album should do amazingly, the monetary backing will allow it a truly spectacular video.
We can't help but thank Miss Barclay for allowing the talents of this man to shine through. We've been perplexed by his genius time and time again and this album is surely going to be in our favourites list come the end of the year. We sincerely cannot wait for you all to hear this album and find ourselves very much looking forward to his performance at London's Scala on October 29th!
Paul.
