Thomas McConnell
With new single Crocodile making waves in the air and online, Getintothis’ Alan O’Hare snaps at the heels of a young songwriter with the, erm, bark to match his bite.
Let’s get it out of the way early: Thomas McConnell is obsessed with The Beatles – and, in particular, Paul McCartney. So far, so what… right?
Wrong. The Liverpool-born, Geordie-bred songwriter has that little something extra that the legions of Fabs’ obsessed boys about this town lack: the tunes to match. Making a name for himself at The Cavern Pub and various inner city festivals, McConnell soon found himself supporting the likes of Squeeze, The Pretty Things and China Crisis, before releasing a promising debut EP last year, Worried About Thomas McConnell, packed with poppy tunes and funny noises.
Now he’s built on that early momentum with the quirky Crocodile, coming on like the best Oasis B-sides that Noel Gallagher thought was that little bit left of centre for the TFI Friday crowd. The guitars sound ace, the beat is incessant and the keyboards could have been streamed in from a Wings 1975 bootleg (no laughing at the back, Linda played funky…).
Sure, it’s all a little 1994. But, who cares about nostalgia when the tunes are this urgent?
