American Wrestlers
After a false start playing guitar for the Manchester band Working for a Nuclear Free City, Scottish-born Gary McClure (working as American Wrestlers) has made this bedroom-pop record about the difficulty of being heard in the world. He’s easy to commiserate with when he sings, “There’s no one crying over me, either.” Sad and wise, McClure atones for a true love (“Holy”) and offers an ode to Kelly Thomas, a homeless California man murdered by the police in 2011 (“Kelly”). While the low-fi mix distracts and some tracks run long, you can hear the bona fides of a skilled singer-songwriter. McClure’s cool charm makes these homespun songs feel like long-lost guitar-pop gems, newly discovered and barely dusted off.