“I love the idea of something being so romantic that it almost hurts,” says C (for Chris) Duncan of the music he adores. The Glasgow classically trained multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter honours that idea with true feeling on his fifth album, It’s Only a Love Song. Previously, on 2022’s Alluvium, Chris had treated his wide-ranging stories as fertile soil for a record of multi-stranded tones and styles. It’s Only a Love Song is anchored in personal experiences of love – notably, Chris and his long-term partner recently married – and loss.

As he explains, “I’ve been wanting to do a record that is unashamedly romantic and slightly old-timey. Quite a lot of my stuff has a hint of that, but this one is more kind of 1970s, with the string arrangements and a sort of warmth sprinkled on top. And whereas Alluvium had the space to meander off into its own areas, with this one I thought more about pace and how each song could go into the next one. There is more of a theme – it’s a highly romantic record, which then goes from that into dealing with the loss of friends and relatives.”

Duncan’s parents, retired classical players both – contributed strings. Chris played most of the strings on Alluvium, though he describes his viola-playing as “pretty dodgy… low and slow”. This time, his “high, soaring” ambitions called for more far-reaching solutions: “My dad loves playing violin, so I thought, all right, I’ll share some of the performing with people who can do better.”

“It’s Only a Love Song” is a heartfelt valentine to romance with its head in the heavens and its sweep in the cinema stalls. Alongside The Carpenters and Scott Walker, declared influences range from Michel Legrand to Bernstein’s West Side Story and the films of Jacques Demy, whose The Umbrellas of Cherbourg boasts music to make hearts sing. “It’s almost hyper-romantic, which I love,” explains Chris: “That way in music where you get to a point where your heart can’t actually take anymore.”

C Duncan 2025 tour dates:

Tuesday 28 January – Glasgow – St Luke’s (Celtic Connections)
Thursday 30 January – Reading – South Street Arts Centre
Friday 31 January – Southampton – Heartbreakers
Saturday 1 February – Sheffield – Hallamshire Hotel
Sunday 2 February – Stockton-on-Tees – The Georgian Theatre
Wednesday 19 February – Manchester – Gullivers
Thursday 20 February – Nottingham – Bodega Social Club
Friday 21 February – Bristol – Folk House
Sunday 23 February – Oxford – Jericho Tavern
Monday 24 February – London – The Lexington
Tuesday 25 February – Brighton – Komedia
Wednesday 26 February – Leeds – Oporto

Pre-order It’s Only A Love Song HERE