Neil McSweeney is a singer songwriter from Sheffield unafraid to wear his heart on his sleeve.
The delicate title song, available initially as a digital only download, is an enigmatic love song of sorts which is admirably free of cliche and seems centred on indecisiveness and apprehension. Here "hope is just a rope to hang yourself" and he gains literary kudos for name checking (in full) the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
'A Rope To Hang' is a beautifully wistful song, although accompanied just by an acoustic guitar, McSweeney tends to come across as just a little too desolate and maudlin.
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I found the more expansive sound on the b-side - Chinese Cargo - much more arresting.
Here as on his debut album he is backed by his touring band 'The Gents'. What adds to its potency is the fact that the vocals are more forthright and the obvious Americana influence shines through. The song fades out rather abruptly just as the band are hitting their stride.
Perhaps this is a deliberate ploy to whet the listener's appetite for more of the same- if this was the plan, then it works a treat.
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