Loss (Mull Historical Society album) explained

Loss
Type:	studio
Artist:	Mull Historical Society
Cover:	MullHistoricalSocietyLossAlbumcover.jpg
Released:	15 October 2001
Recorded:	February - April 2001 at Gravity Studios, Glasgow
Genre:	Indie pop, electropop, electronica
Label:	Blanco y Negro (UK) XL (US)
Producer:	Colin MacIntyre
Next Title:	Us
Next Year:	2003

Loss is the debut album of Scottish indie pop band Mull Historical Society. It includes the singles "Barcode Bypass", "I Tried", "Animal Cannabus" and "Watching Xanadu". The album reached number 43 in the UK album chart.^[1] It was inspired by the sudden death of his father in 1999^[2] and his upbringing on the Isle of Mull.^[3] It contains samples from a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry and the waves on Calgary Bay in Mull.^[3] "Barcode Bypass" is about a small shopkeeper threatened by the supermarkets,^[4] and "Watching Xanadu" is about watching the film Xanadu.^[5]

Track listing

• "Loss" is a hidden unlisted track at the end of the album - "Paper Houses" ends at 5:18, and "Loss" begins after a 30-second gap.

The CD version of the album was released as an enhanced CD-ROM containing footage of Colin MacIntyre performing live acoustic versions of the songs "Barcode Bypass" and "I Tried".

Personnel

• Colin MacIntyre - all vocals, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, programming, tapes, baritone guitar on "Instead", whistling on "Instead"
• Emma Barlow - additional vocals on "Strangeways Inside"
• Phil Cunningham - accordion on "Only I"
• Michael Ghia - cello on "Instead"
• Brian MacNeil - additional keyboards on "Watching Xanadu", "Only I", "Paper Houses"
• Alan Malloy - bass guitar on "I Tried", "Barcode Bypass", "Paper Houses"
• Debbie Martin - flute on "Instead", "Mull Historical Society"
• Stewart Nisbet - pedal steel guitar on "Only I"
• Euan Sinclair - drums on "Barcode Bypass", "Mull Historical Society"
• Tony Soave - drums and percussion on all tracks except "Barcode Bypass"
• Iain Stewart - additional keyboards on "I Tried", "Barcode Bypass", "Strangeways Inside", "Mull Historical Society"
• Graham Weir - trombone on "Only I", "Mull Historical Society"
• Neil Weir - trumpet on "Only I", "Mull Historical Society"
• David Lee, Graham McCusker, Cameron Dick - choirboys on "Instead"

Reception

Q listed Loss as one of the best 50 albums of 2001.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Book: Roberts , David . 2006. British Hit Singles & Albums. 19th. Guinness World Records Limited . London. 1-904994-10-5.
2. News: Lasting tribute to BBC journalist. 26 July 1999. BBC Online. 7 February 2014.
3. News: Mull Historical Society play Loss album at Celtic Connections at The Arches. STV. 17 January 2014. 26 January 2014.
4. News: Why the rest is history. 17 January 2003. The Scotsman. 5 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20170406024933/http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/why-the-rest-is-history-1-636869 . 6 April 2017. dead.
5. News: On top of the world From lowly support slots, Mull Historical Society are now on the brink of going global. John Williamson charts their rise. 2 February 2002. 6 February 2014. The Herald (Glasgow).
6. News: The Best 50 Albums of 2001. Q. December 2001. 60–65.