StevieRay Latham
Album: Modern Attitudes
Label: At The Helm
Tracks: 11
Website: http://www.stevieraylatham.com

For a young singer-songwriter to be mentioned in the same breath as Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan is high praise indeed.

But it is also a label which can be hard to shake-off if you want to make your own mark.

StevieRay grew up in Devon and is now based in London. He is a BBC Young Folk Award nominee and his music has been compared to Dylan and Cohen.

Modern Attitudes features eleven original tracks.

The opening track Get On Out & Run is an upbeat song with a strong Americana feel.

Sunday Blues is a solo voice and guitar track. StevieRay's singing is distinctive and clear. For what it's worth I think he sings better than Dylan or Cohen!

His material has a certain Dylan-esque feel to it. Think of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan album and you'll get the picture.

It's Been A Long time even has some harmonica on it. The song follows the same pattern as the others, a narrative story with a short chorus.

It's tricky for such sparse arrangements to work, the material has to be really top notch to hold interest. And while this album doesn't contain the next Blowin' In The Wind there is enough here to suggest StevieRay is on the right track. Ernest singing of ernest songs. Perhaps a little more light and less shade would be beneficial.

The better songs are towards the back end of this album. Feather Down Blues also features harmonica as does I'll Wait For the Morning To Come which is possibly the strongest song here. The jaunty Take Me Back is another strong song of reminisces. Til The Dawn closes the album - at 6.32 it's the longest track.

John Knighton