Scottish singer songwriter Stephen McCafferty first reached an audience as part of indie rock band Return To The Sun, with whom he gained support from Radio X, while still broadcasting under the XFM name. After the band dissolved, Stephen disappeared. It seemed that, despite support from some high places, he wasn’t going to persue a career in music any longer.
He returned as as solo artist in 2020 with a digital single, ‘Spectre of Light’, but due to everyone being more concerned with a global pandemic and everything closing down, it didn’t appear to make a huge impact. Following another spell out of the spotlight, Stephen re-appeared again in 2024, by which time, the musical landscape looked rather different. His songs, however, remained as solidly written as ever, and his track ‘What Are We Waiting For’ – released digitally in January of that year – re-introduced listeners to a composer capable of a sharing thoughtful lyric, but just as importantly, someone blessed with a melodic ear that could potentially take his new material to an even keener fan base.
When heard as part of Stephen’s debut album ‘Monsters And Lullabies’ – released in October 2025 – the track has lost none of its spark. A relative distance from its original release, and a wealth of digital music ingested in the meantime, has not diminished its power. Kicking off with a solid rhythm, it shares a vibrant pop-rock sound where heavily strummed acoustic guitars are joined by sparsely presented ringing leads, creating a layered sound that could have been spawned at any point over the previous thirty five years. The music is instantly appealing, and the assembled band are tight, but McCafferty’s vocal sounds equally as jubilant, even when crying longer notes over the buoyant pop-rock. His chosen lyric exploring the death of a relationship, on the surface, could seem at odds with the music, but it all marries very effectively. ‘Digging For Joy’, a tale of youth and misdemeanour that makes no secret of a strong Edinburgh accent, takes the idea of contrast even further. On a musical level, it feels rather more flippant with its jangly guitars and pop-ish flair, but behind the harmonies, there’s a lyrical deepness and a darkness when re-telling of the overconfident youth who needs “a smack in the mouth” and fails to spot “fate like a wolf at the door”. It’s actually a little unsettling, but there’s a smartness within this work, and possibly even a love for Del Amitri who, although stylistically a little different, also shared a love of juxtaposing personal tragedy with the kind of music that radio listeners would find uplifting.
One of this record’s instant standouts, ‘I Only Want To Hear Sad Songs’ takes a relatively commercial stance. The core melody kicks off with a pulsebeat joined by bright sounding guitar harmonics and bell like keys, attracting the listener with a sound that borrows from late 80s adult pop. Adding a flowing vocal with a slightly melancholic tone, McCafferty ensures the very accessible melodies remain strong, but its when the chorus hits that this single really comes into its own. Joined by a female vocal – courtesy of Ace & All The Other Animals – there’s actually a faint echo of Deacon Blue at the heart of a really catchy hook. That’s enough to give this track a classic feel, but those who’ve already found a love for Stephen’s voice will continue to be entertained, as his vaguely mournful tone sounds brilliant against a stripped down backdrop which makes great use of the pulsebeats once more, whilst his chiming guitar tones fill a lot of space with melodic flourishes that occasionally sound like something from The Temper Trap. Eventually, the slow burning tension explodes and the number finishes with a dual vocal crying against a crashy drum part, bringing everything a little further in line with a couple of the artist’s rockier tracks.
‘Quiet Dream’ doesn’t really care for immediacy, but in keeping with the other numbers that make up this album, the arrangement is rather smart. Here, fingerpicked guitar lines dance above bell like sounds, and McCafferty drifts into a world of folk-pop that allows a reflective vocal to take centre stage. “The flowers don’t grow outside of the window”, he muses somewhere around the end of the first verse, suggesting this is another number with an aching heart and a feeling of loss, but the lightness of the music ensures that the narrative never feels heavy. “Time isn’t something we can keep”, he continues, likening the motion of life to sandcastles waiting to be swept away. This may be a very Scottish, very matter-of-fact view, but the music continues to share a poetic beauty that fuses the sounds of Belle And Sebastian with something a little more folk-centric. There’s an almost slight feel to the piece; it’s definitely a number that sounds better over time, and one that shows a different set of influences without losing a familiarity of voice.
‘I Am The Buffalo’ also shows off Stephen’s more melodic side in many ways, and feels like a callback to the mellow verses of ‘…Sad Songs’. Its semi-busy rhythm sets an interesting backdrop in place that sounds perfect for a very adult pop-rock tone, but this isn’t a track that feels at all showy on a musical level. The solid sounding arrangement is more than content with acting as a platform for a great voice, and Stephen taps into a tone that brings a slight folky air to a great track, allowing his performance to glide very naturally across the semi jangly riff. Augmented by an echoing harmony, the folky element within the tune is highlighted very subtly at first, but by the end of the number, a round of multi-layered vocals provide a huge hook that blends folk and pop in a timeless way, creating something that really makes an impression. This is a very deliberate move, giving the recording something hugely memorable as the last notes fade, balancing out a chorus which sidelines an obvious immediacy for something a little more sophisticated; something that expects the audience to listen a few times before its flowing melody leaves its mark. It may be quite subtle, but ‘I Am The Buffalo’ is a smartly arranged number that gives this album another standout cut.
‘Rubber Glove’ presents a very different sounding artist. Trading in his busy acoustic sound for something more within an indie rock vein, McCafferty shares something with more of a contemporary edge, but the results are just as impressive. A ringing guitar calls out over a strong bassline, driving the verse brilliantly, whilst a wordy vocal is presented without disrupting the sense of melody. With a variety of lyrical concerns delivered in a scattergun approach that sounds like a distant cousin of Billy Joel’s ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’, Stephen’s voice maintains a very strong presence, but for those solely interested in the music, this track’s blend of harder edged guitars and strident rhythms will be more than strong enough to command attention.‘Rubber Glove’ may present McCafferty’s rockier side, but when presented as the opening track for this collection, it has an immediacy that stands a good chance of catching the ear of the first time listener, as well as providing a long overdue bridge between Return To The Sun and this record’s acoustic-based wares. With its nod to the past, but desire to move forward in terms of songwriting strengths, it’s easy to understand why this has been chosen as the opening track, despite ‘Monsters And Lullabies’ being home to a few much stronger songs. Clinging on to the ringing indie rock guitars, ‘Someday Somehow’ crashes in with a similarly rocky intent before the riffs fall away to reveal a quiet verse where McCafferty’s folkier lilt comes to the fore with the help of a slightly mournful vocal. The second time the verse rolls around, a slightly busier rhythm suggests the heart of something that could slip into something Killers-esque, but the vocal ensures the downbeat tone remains. Using the rocky opening riff to power a great chorus, a blend of ringing guitars and big harmony vocals serves up something that’s really radio friendly. Radio X should certainly show interest again…
Elsewhere, ‘Cabin Fever’ works some solid sounding indie rock, with a driving guitar riff used brilliantly to lead the track, and returning to fill a punchy chorus. Despite being the dominant element in some ways, the overdriven electric guitar isn’t the track’s most striking feature: that would the vocal. With McCafferty applying some huge harmonies (in keeping with ‘I Am The Buffalo’) when the more rousing elements take centre stage, but sounding almost fragile when left to steer the number’s quieter moments to glory, there’s a push and pull here that’s rather pleasing. It’s presented in a very subtle way, with the shifting music never upstaging the vocal or lyric. In some ways, though, despite being enjoyable, it’s the closest this collection comes to filler, since it sounds a bit like a couple of the album’s much stronger tunes. The overall sound is still very professional, however, and the voice has a depth of feeling that actually sounds more impressive if you approach this as a stand alone track.
At the tail end of the album, ‘Lord Knows I’m Trying’ is a very reflective piece. The mature sounding number comes with an acoustic base which works flawlessly against a smooth vocal, but things begin to sound even more impressive once the rest of the instrumentation starts to appear. This is a number that’s in no hurry: it first adds a strident piano chord or two and a little warming bass, suggesting something in the Coldplay mould, but then takes a detour into a world of adult guitar pop where ringing guitars bolster a vaguely Celtic sounding melody that almost feels like a welcome tip of the hat to bands like The Adventures. Wherever the music goes, though, it’s Stephen’s vocal that’s so often the main focus, and he glides between melodic pop sounds and an impassioned cry on the main hook in such a way that demonstrates an easy knack for sharing something grand, yet without bombast. Rounding out an already strong selection, ‘Reason To Run’ opens with a statement where McCafferty tells the audience of a book burning dream and later takes in a scenario where “castles in the sky” transform “monsters into lullabies”, it’s a track that very much opts for a striking visual imagery, cementing any feelings the listener may already have about Stephen’s growth as a songwriter during his lengthy absence from the music world. However, for those not really into words, personal or otherwise, the music more than carries everything. Armed with a rousing folk rock riff that doesn’t feel far removed from early/classic Frank Turner, the arrangement aims to get a world of pop-rock and folk rock fans onside, and given how infectious the performer’s choice of melody is here, that shouldn’t be a difficult task. This definitely closes this musical journey on a high note; the track’s uptempo elements actually invite the listener to approach the album for a second listen, pretty much as soon as the final notes fade.
The fact that nine of these ten songs have been issued as digital singles before the arrival of ‘Monsters And Lullabies’ and that ‘I Am The Buffalo’ appeared on YouTube in time for the album’s release, and given the way the material has been slowly drip fed to an audience over the course of almost two years, speaks volumes about how differently people were digesting new music as 2025 began to draw to a close. For the independent artist, in some cases, the album was no longer a long-playing artform, expecting its audience to slowly unveil its hidden treasures, but a collection of tracks pulled together for a handy catch-all digest. Not that this in any way affects the quality of the songs on McCafferty’s debut: ‘Monsters’ is a fantastic collection, no matter how slowly it came together, or its method of presentation. Hearing these songs together creates a body of work that’s rich, and often more confident than its individual elements. Whether or not you’ve heard some of these songs previously, this is a highly recommended listen.
October/December 2025
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