M.G. Boulter is a singer/songwriter who aspires to guide his listeners on a tour of his world, what he sees and his sense of place. His songs delve into insightful reflections of suburban life and the mundanities that exist just beneath the surface, concealing the tangled roots of forgotten dreams and buried expectations. He presently resides on the north bank of the River Thames in the UK, about 40 miles east of London in a town called Southend-on-Sea. He describes life there thusly: “I grew up here and so I have that love/hate relationship with the place, knowing what it could be but loving it for what it is.”
With four full-length studio albums along with several EP’s and two live albums to his credit, he has honed a lyrical style and sound that grows richer with each release. The entirety of his musical offerings can be found on his Bandcamp page or through his website. “Days of Shaking” was released this past June and is available from Hudson Records, a roots and folk label based in Sheffield, England that has been releasing his records since 2018.
Two of the four gorgeous songs on Boulter’s exclusive AUK mini-gig are from his new record. He opens with ‘The Hotel at Midnight,’ cannily using a hotel nightshift worker who sleeps by day as a foil to describe his penchant for walking around hotels in the dead of night, like a ghost, when on tour. As Boulter discloses, “You never know who’s behind all those doors. Hotels are hubs of stories all shooting off in different directions.”
The magic of very early mornings is what he describes in ‘The Jaws of Nothing,’ also from “Days of Shaking.” The song’s repeated refrain of limbs like verbs, teeth like silver is pervasive and haunting. You can imagine someone taking morning coffee in solitude, perhaps gazing at rocky cliffs rising above the sea, contemplating: And I have wandered and I have found, there is no other who stands here now.
My introduction to Boulter came by way of his 2021 album “Clifftown,” and I was pleased to encounter the former frontman of Southend pub-rockers The Lucky Strikes. This is a concept album based on his hometown. The songs present as a collection of photographs capturing what takes place from the prosaic to the unusual in the day-to-day affairs of a place decidedly reminiscent of the superb TV series “Broadchurch.” The title song laments opportunities missed, frustration born of regrets that kids grow old and move away from home while their parents remain, rarely achieving the dreams of youth.
In this stripped-down, solo performance, you’ll see Boulter switching off from a Martin Triple 0 to a double 0. On the new record, producer Andy Bell used subtle instrumentation to lend a depth to the songs. MG himself added pedal and lap steel guitar and percussion during the sessions. The mini-gig recording, however, was taped in the back room of his apartment. Boulter recalls that, “It was on a very humid and hot day in June. I’m currently moving house, so the space is in some disarray.”
He is forgiven the state of housekeeping given the exquisite renditions of these four songs, the last of which is brand new, never even performed live before AUK viewers have the singular opportunity to listen to ‘Forecourt Flowers.’ It’s best to leave the interpretation to your imagination after you fully digest its thoughtful lyricism from an artist that continues to polish his skillful craft.
