The Mary Column - Very Sparrow

Jack Mellin is a mainstay of Spinning Coin and a frequent contributor to other acts in the Glasgow scene. Spinning Coin released albums on Stephen Pastel's Geographic label, with production from Edwyn Collins. The Mary Column is Mellin's latest outlet for his music and songwriting. Naturally, it shares an affinity with the Glasgow sound but Very Sparrow goes far beyond that, highlighting many of Mellin's formative influences, and it's all the better for it.

Very Sparrow is played with urgency. It's direct, personal, and melodic - bathed in harmonies and featuring countless soaring guitar lines. From the opening track, 'It Takes Time', a rousing slice of indie pop, Mellin's searching voice is joined here, and throughout the album, by Rachel Taylor (Spinning Coin) and Simone Wilson (Simone Antigone), driven by the taut, crisp rhythms of Chris White (also of Spinning Coin). The songs trace a period of personal change and turbulence in Mellin's life: from the onset of the pandemic that curtailed a Spinning Coin tour to the death of his father. That loss is movingly referenced on 'Wild Light', where, amid a plaintive strum and organ accompaniment, Mellin sings, "You taught me so much... you'll always be there because I feel it". It hits hard.

As is the way of many Glasgow bands, and as noted in the press notes, the album draws on influences like Big Star and Jonathan Richman. But this is a raw collection of deeply personal songs that also evoke the sound and spirit of Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Hüsker Dü, and the Lemonheads, where Mellin lays his heart bare. The album revolves around the splendour of love and the ache of loss.

The stark chords and intricate guitar ripples of 'Swimming' pair yearning vocals with observations ranging from the personal to the global. Mellin's sensitivity is evident on 'Love Can Make You Cry', framing heartbreak as something as natural as mountains, trees, rivers and stars. The ringing chords of the questioning 'Hamadryad' build to a soaring climax of guitars before breaking and bowing out into intricate patterns. On 'World's Apart', clipped chords and sumptuous organ underpin a blend of vocals, as they do on much of this, kindalike the way Juliana Hatfield effortlessly added a cool aloofness to the Lemonheads. Evan Dando isn't the only touchstone from the '90s wave of noisy, melodic American guitar bands, though. You can also hear J Mascis and Dinosaur Jr. in the freakout ending of the punk-pop riffs and glorious harmonies of 'Dirty Winnings' and strewn throughout the joyous poppy chords of 'Dig'.

On 'Dig', Mellin touches on living in a cold, difficult, and dangerous world, a feeling taken to extremes on 'FUA', where he sings, "You're all creeps, and you make my skin crawl". It's a pissed-off, punk-pop, scuzzy reaction to the workings of the modern condition. Its brevity encapsulates Very Sparrow's perfect balance of noise and melody, sweetened by harmonies and offset by searing guitar distortion.

Very Sparrow is raw and rough around the edges, but within its no-frills approach there is a melodic sensibility and an inspired ability to burst into flourishes of guitar overload. I can't say how it compares to Spinning Coin, a band I've admittedly overlooked, but while the influences of Dinosaur Jr. and the Lemonheads are evident, it also brings to mind a raw James Kirk (on his solo album) or early Teenage Fanclub. As much as this is a Glasgow record, released on Errol's Hot Wax, it is also a deeply personal and earnest and a worthy statement of Mellin's songwriting talent. Very Sparrow is a great album, and one I've been listening to a lot. If any of the artists mentioned above appeal to you, it's well worth investigating. With no weak tracks across its 37 minute runtime it easily holds its own among its influences. Great stuff. Very Sparrow is available digitally and as CD and vinyl from Errol's Hot Wax