Eletric Arguments (2008) (The Fireman)

 

  1. Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight
  2. Two Magpies
  3. Sing the Changes
  4. Travelling Light
  5. Highway
  6. Light From Your Lighthouse
  7. Sun is Shining
  8. Dance 'Til We're High
  9. Lifelong Passion
  10.Is This Love?
  11.Lovers in a Dream
  12.Universal Here, Everlasting Now
  13.Don't Stop Running

 

Whether or not to include this one in the McCartney canon is up for debate. Released under the pseudonym The Fireman, this was technically the third album in a sporadic “electronica” side project McCartney began in the early 1990s with producer Youth (of Killing Joke fame). The first album, Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest, was a 45-minute endurance test of ambient loops and synthetic noise, and listening to it felt more like homework than enjoyment. The second one—Rushes—I never personally heard, but reports suggest it was at least a step in the right direction.

Which brings us to Electric Arguments. If you're assuming more of the same noise-for-noise’s-sake, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. This is a proper album, with proper songs. No, it’s not structured like a typical McCartney release, and yes, it’s still drenched in studio experimentation, but there’s a melodic core here that was missing from the previous Fireman efforts. And more importantly, it’s good. Very good, actually.

To be clear, this is still an “experimental” record. The instrumentation is eclectic, the production is restless, and many of the songs feel like they arrived by way of happy accident rather than meticulous planning. But that’s part of its charm. If McCartney and McCartney II represented Paul playing in the sandbox with his tape recorder, Electric Arguments is him doing the same thing—but with far better tools and a much clearer sense of purpose.

The highlights are obvious. Sing the Changes, Dance ’Til We’re High, and Highway are the most accessible tracks, and wouldn’t sound out of place on a traditional McCartney album. The rest of the record veers into more adventurous territory—some of it abstract, some of it oddly hypnotic. In many cases, there’s a song buried beneath the layers of sound; you just have to be patient enough to find it.

And that’s really the takeaway here. Electric Arguments is not built for easy listening or casual consumption. But it rewards repeat visits, and stands as evidence that, far from being the lightweight popsmith his critics once accused him of being, McCartney could still take risks—and land them.

It may not be essential listening for everyone, but for those curious to see what happens when Paul follows his muse completely off the map, this is a rewarding detour. Strange, yes. But strangely satisfying.

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