Eugene McGuinness: Biography

• Overview
• Discography
• Biography
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Genre:

Rock Music

Decades Active:

2000's

Armed with a truly outstanding debut single, "Monsters Under the Bed," that recalls artists ranging from Odelay era Beck to 1980s UK cult heroes the Television Personalities, Eugene McGuinness appeared rather out of nowhere in 2007, seeming like he might be the Damon Albarn of the current set of NeoBritpopsters following in the wake of the Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand. Like Albarn, McGuinness is a singer and songwriter of varied tastes whose talents extend beyond what's currently fashionable, with an eye for mix and matching unexpected influences (in an early interview, he claimed to be equally enamored of Broadway master Stephen Sondheim and UK grime star Dizzee Rascal, and elements of both appear in his music) into a unique personal style. Born in 1985 in London to Northern Irish parents and raised in Liverpool, McGuinness started writing songs in his mid teens. By the age of 20, McGuinness was signed to the publishing arm of the hottest British indie label of the time, Domino Records. In early 2007, Domino formed a special subsidiary label, Double Six Records, to release McGuinness' debut single, a nervy, synthdriven ode to information overload and insomnia. A BBC Radio 1 session followed in the spring after the single's immediate success, and an eight track mini album, The Early Learnings of Eugene McGuinness, was released by Double Six in the summer.

- Stewart Mason, All Music Guide