I really liked Some Legacy when it released, listening a lot in 2019-2020. Then it kind of slipped off my radar, as records tend to do as somebody who gets a ton of new music. Now, Billy Liar is back with new record and this one is equally vibrant. Billy Liar is a Scottish musician, sometimes playing solo and sometimes with a full band. While that phrasing probably put some names in your head, his sound is a lot more “full band punk rock” than singer/songwriter, even though it skirts both worlds. The vibe and energy feels bigger and more connected to the audience, though, than just some dude with an acoustic guitar. Some songs are brutally personal and others bridge across the barrier with big singalongs and universal themes. While this is absolutely a solo project, I think it’s important that the artist chose to go by Billy Liar instead of his birthname, as it makes it more about an idea than a single person.
That personal tone begins right away on “Oblivion,” using a metaphor of quitting smoking to hit on personal pain and shortcomings, establishing an everyperson struggle -- a common theme throughout. It’s working class punk rock at heart, exploring family struggles, mental health, alcohol, and more. After listening intently to Some Legacy, some of these themes repeat and evolve while others show that some ghosts continue to haunt him. There is a real storytelling element to it, taking from real life experiences and places and then adding emotional insight, as in “Starlight On Main,” which culminates in a refrain of “What we love is gone” in a painful, cathartic group singalong. I’ll also shoutout a penchant for wordplay, dropping the obscure “glurm” into a lyric, as well as tongue twisters like “I’m trying to unpack all these tangled twines/ They’re tripping up my thoughts in my troubled mind.” Later, “Hogmanay” takes that singalong element to a new level with a Pogues-style pub vibe, which is a nice metaphor for the overall sound here, which manages to combine pub vibes, punk rock, and emotional singer-songwriter elements. The record closes with the intensely personal and acoustic “Troubled Mind.”
Standouts include “Oblivion” (though seeing him live with a cigarette behind his ear kinda killed the metaphor), “Negroni” (with Frank Turner), and “Ostrich.” But this is a really strong, consistent record that also doesn’t have any misses.
