We have a lot to thank Conor Oberst for. First of all there’s the fact that his 2005 album ‘I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning’ is one of the years best. Secondly and perhaps more crucially he has been instrumental in giving Willy Mason a break by signing him to his label Team Love. 20-year-old Mason drifted in from Martha’s Vineyard on a tide of ramshackle chords, country tinged backdrops and wry lyrical repositories. And now he has gone and produced a debut of understated beauty. It’s like that feeling you got all those years ago when Beck drifted over the speakers for the first time.

Apart from his ability to engineer a great tune Willy Mason’s trump card is his vintage voice. Perhaps he has perfected the first homemade vocal chord sander but the noise he makes is remarkably cultured for one so young with the result that his insightful lyrics seem apt. The musicianship is loose and free wheeling like on the albums opening track ‘Gotta Keep Movin’ which could really be the output from an over enthusiastic rocking chair enthusiast from the deep South. Mason ideas may script life’s underbelly but many of his tunes are punctured by couplets delivered in fluffy coated choruses. ‘Still A Fly’ is one such, coming and going in just under 2 and a half minutes; its simple chord changes wander mischievously until Mason dips the vocals and begs not be forgotten.

‘Oxygen’ has become a torch song, Mason gently bares his soul amid a backdrop of acoustic guitars and sweetly vulnerable vocals. ‘Oxygen’ and the albums title track are the potential seeds for Masons progression into public consciousness. ‘Where The Humans Eat’ has a steady course, defined by a rolling drumbeat, Masons lazy delivery of super lines like “I just fed you, and your fat brother, so why are you now, still yelling at me?” and the odd spectral emission. It’s the albums defining moment, a true 21st century classic. While ‘Where The Humans Eat’ exposes Mason’s ability to come up with straight laced pop, it’s obvious his preference lies in off kilter strumalongs, the kind that would make his campfire the location for this years best party. ‘Hard To Hold’ shuffles unevenly, chords chime and Mason storylines until a familiar chorus has everyone joining in. ‘So Long’ is equally rousing, its youthful theme and energetic stance will have audiences all over the world in a tizzy.

'Where The Humans Eat' has two thirds of an album worth of memorable tunes. The scraps are not totally forgettable but are harder to embrace (‘Our Town’, ‘Letter #1’, ‘Sold My Soul’, ‘21st Century Boy’). This means the album sags a little in the middle but the initial flurry and closing fireworks are so wondrous that they are easily forgotten. Mason tempers his pervasive use of melody with topics as bleak as homelessness, broken families and incarceration. The general mood is undoubtedly one of melancholy, which could leave inlay card readers reaching for the nearest bottle of JD. By immersing oneself in the music however the experience is one that is best shared with a few friends on a balcony overlooking the city on a warm summers evening.

It’s hard to ignore this album such is the ease with which it readily deals shards of wisdom, off centre playing and pockets of honeycombed melody. There may be a little bit of work involved in appreciating its curious directions but the enormity of Mason’s talent is there to see from the get go. He and Mr Bright Eyes are beginning to deliver a rich seam of urban poetry put to equally compelling music. With Mason’s predilection for taking to the road in his campervan on a quest to take over the world he could yet become the 21st centuries most revered travelling minstrel. KD

Rating: 7/10


More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Where the Humans Eat [US] Where the Humans Eat

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With a ragged beauty and grandiose formula suitably befitting a band from Iceland, Sigur Ros are a breath of fresh air in a sometimes stale indie market. While many of their contemporaries' follow well worn formulas, Sigur Ros have a sound that is uniquely theirs. One word of warning though, don't buy this album if you couldn't care less about missing out on something special. Every song on Agaetis Byrjun is an opera in itself. A ethereal voice that could cut through a glacier soars and swoops over arrangements that are so endearing you sometimes think that they could be wasted on an audience not willing to succumb to its charms. The lyrics are a melange ofIcelandic, Hopelandic (Sigur Ros language) and some English but as such it doesn't matter. Remember how you watched 'Life is Beautiful' and forgot there were subtitles, well it is the same here.

While every track is a winner there are a few inter stellar moments that actually produce goosebumps. Sven-G-Englar an early single has been re-released to coincide with their latest tour and proves a good introduction to the scope of Sigur Ros' output. Witness the vocal as the best instrument you've ever heard, so primitive but so hauntingly beautiful beside that submarine echo. Seeing Sigur Ros live is an experience you will treasure for life, it may even move you to tears on occasions. They play against a backdrop of a clear starry night, you'll stand hushed, incredulous that you are witnessing pure pop music. When an album like this is played with the same passion and power, there is no live experience that can come close. 'Starafur' will melt your heart. It will swathe you in a ready brek type glow as the soft vocals, electro twinkling and sweet strings create a concoction that is mesmeric. Try playing it to a fierce creature and watch the beast sit back and reflect on how great life is. I defy anybody not to be moved by it. 'Flugufrelsarinn' sails by for almost 8 minutes with giant slabs of soaring guitars intermittently interrupting the vocal gymnastics and organ drenched backdrop.

The longest track on the album, 'Vidrar Vel Til Loftarasa', starts out like a snowflake. Over the course of its 10 minutes it transforms into something altogether more powerful. Blending the finer strings with music box tittering and a pretend country strum, this song ushers in a frosty vocal. As the friction builds up the tempo warms until the movement is unstoppable. As you get caught up in it you can't breathe, but remember what they told you in ski school. Don't panic at all costs because help is on the way. Several minutes later as the sun filters through, you smile and the world becomes your oyster once more. A close thing but what a wonderful thing this avalanche of sound is. 'Olsen Olsen' has a seasonal ring and hearing it does create goodwill feelings that few things can produce. Made up of a hybrid of heavy bass riffs, Jonsi’s almost female sounding vocals, a wandering flute quiver and a sweet barrage of backing vocals, this is exceedingly good stuff. The title track appears soon afterwards and just ups the ante on an album on its way to the stars. It is fragile, vulnerable and so close to perfection it hurts.

Sigur Ros are a band to treasure. If they are nurtured well they could hold onto the incredible power that their music currently unleashes. As is the case in a cruel world it's unlikely they'll ever reach the heights of Britney Spears stardom but for a lot of people they will mean an awful lot more. And anyway, with bands like this you get greedy and want to keep them to yourself. Already national heroes in their own land there is a Sage being written about them as we speak. KD

Rating: 9/10

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Agaetis Byrjun [US] Ágætis Byrjun
Listen: Sigur Ros - Starálfur

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You've got to hand it to Shed Seven's incredible longevity. Where other bands would have thrown in the towel much earlier these perennial underachievers continued to ply their trade with limited success. Remember it took Pulp ten years to break even but perhaps we're talking about different leagues here. It is hard to figure out why Shed Seven have rarely impacted on mainstream consciousness. On paper at least they have a good fighting chance. Rick Witter gives off the notion of a preening rock star (who looks like a young Ian Brown on the cover of this album) capable of coming up with little pop gems like 'Chasing Rainbows' and 'Going for Gold'. Rather unfairly Witter has been a figure of fun in the music press, seen as a semi-faux pretender. In Alan Leach Shed Seven possessed a drummer who follows in the great tradition of nutcase stick handlers, a necessary requirement in the rock and roll scheme of things. Add to this the other band members who are more than capable of delivering on Witter's pop vision. Perhaps it's just a case of missing the X factor that marks a band out from the large cast of wannabe stars. Shed Seven are a little short of inspiring, maybe a bit too aspiring for their own good.

Getting back to the music, Change Giver was a fine debut. It produced several singles that went on to make a dent (admittedly small) on the charts. None of the tracks, however, are truly groundbreaking. They are pleasant in a throwaway type of way. You may whistle them down the road but the next nice one that comes along quickly replaces them. Just like 'Missing Out', all jingly jangly and a strong vocal but also quite forgettable. Change Giver is the quintessential indie album. It's got the choruses, the guitar mix and the whippet like vocals. Harmless pop that won't fill your head with dreams, perhaps its slight nature is ultimately its undoing. There are a few genuine highlights though. 'Speakeasy' has a spiky guitar entrance and a breezy cool nature that levitates its groovy nature. 'Ocean Pie' is also wonderful. A slow burner that resonates classicism and insightful lyrics that are sadly prophetic. 'I don't need to live, I need to survive' neatly describes the bands hanging on by a fingernail situation.

While there are a few duds the album possesses more hooks than a seabound trawler. It's like Mr. Witter figures that if he throws out enough candyfloss some of it will stick. So you get a Dead or Alive homage on 'Dolphin', something approaching an average Suede tune on 'Stars In Your Eyes' and the indie by numbers stoop of 'Mark'. Surprisingly there are a few hints of something bigger on the last track 'On An Island With You'. Stretching to over 8 minutes you wonder why it couldn't always be like this. Starting out at breakneck speed it flowers into a something altogether more beautiful with a distinguished guitar sequence befitting a truly great band. Not an ‘I Am The Resurrection’ type finale but it does leave a sweet aftertaste. If the posturing could be harnessed into a more diverse sound then Shed Seven could finally break free of that nearly men tag. ‘Change Giver’ is more than an honest, workmanlike album and deserves an audience. No student party would seem quite complete without it (while we're on this subject, what happens to students when they enter the world of work, do they suddenly become Westlife fans, I've never quite worked it out). Give them a chance and maybe Shed Seven's luck will change. KD

Rating: 6.5/10

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Change Giver [US] Change Giver

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