Monday the 11^th of November will see the release of ‘Disguises’ by Medals, the solo project of JP Reid, best known as the frontman of Scottish alt-rock band Suciperro, as well as being one half of Marmaduke Duke.

The album, released on independent record label Medals For Everyone, which was founded last year by members of Sucioperro, will be much anticipated by many of the band’s existing devoted fans. The Medals sound brings something quite different to the table, however, and is bound to bring the musical talent of JP Reid to some new, and possibly unexpected, listeners.

 A mixture of light poppy songs, with such infectious choruses as “oh well, oh well, I used to be a dancer”, some sneaky little Sucio-esque guitar riffs, and even elements of dance and funk, this album is a fusion of sound which will make you feel like it’s summer in the coming winter days. Reid says that he wanted the album to be “an uplifting experience”, something instilled with positivity which could transcend the heartbreak he experienced shortly prior to writing the album, and Medals certainly succeeds in creating a sense of the upbeat. Title track ‘Disguises’ is the perfect single in light of this theme; opening with a distorted dance beat, the lyrics state “I don’t like hearing how the world rejects you, sad seeing only worry on your face”, and, as the song builds in tempo and emotion, it commands optimism in its listeners:

We paint it red all those endless weekends
Captured in dreams never black and white
Frozen in time like a golden second, oh oh,
I know those eyes speak loud of comfort,
Heaven reflecting a strobing light

This track has all the makings of a successful pop song, minus the auto-tuning, and with added attention to lyrical detail. The lyrics are something which make this album as a whole stand out:  despite the overarching sense of hope, a certain melancholic feel runs through some of the lyrics. In the fifth track of the album, ‘Valleys’, Reid sings:

Where was that carnival queen
When I blamed the river for everything?
I was just looking out the window
Then it was not there, then it was not there
Just a fear and a healthy respect for illusion

The ambivalence and sense of growth in emotion throughout the 10 songs on ‘Disguises’ bring added depth and complexity to an otherwise light and refreshing piece of music.

You get the sense listening to this album that it has been carefully constructed, progressing through sounds and emotions like a story told in music. Perhaps because of this structure, the album’s strongest points, for me, were its beginning and its end. Opening track ‘Down in the Well’, possibly my favourite on the album, begins with what sounds like a xylophone, and announces the recurring message of the album, “I sing my heart out, because it’s really all that I can do”, while the penultimate track, although aggressively entitled ‘Sit back down, Judas’, in fact produces perhaps the most elevating sound of the album, with its layered vocals and its refrain of “you’re here with me and I’m alright”’.

The final song of the album, ‘Silent Movie House’ represents the most stripped back and soothing of the Medals sound, reminiscent of the slow dance that plays at the end of the night, telling you it’s time to go home. But with ‘Disguises’ coming in at just 32.26 minutes long, you may not feel like it’s quite time to end the party, so I suspect this will be an album you’ll want to play on a loop.

You can listen to two tracks from ‘Disguises’ now on Soundcloud and pre-order the album on Bandcamp.

Look out for our interview this Monday with JP Reid, the man behind Medals.