Charlie Bateman
Album: Fall Out Fall In
Label: Tinkermusic
Tracks: 6
Website: https://www.facebook.com/CharlieBatemanmusic

Charlie Bateman is the lead singer and guitarist with Hampshire based group Thinker and whilst the bad also have a new album due, Charlie has also managed to find time for a debut solo release, in the shape of a six track mini-album, "Fall Out, Fall In"

Running through the track list, I was expecting it to be an album of both originals and covers, "Blowing In The Wind" and "Winter's Tale", both having familiar looking titles, that turned out to be the only similarity with those songs, in fact Charlie penned all of the half dozen songs featured.

I can see why he took the decision to deliver these in a medium away from Thinker, these songs definitely have more of a pastoral feel about them, almost let you get under the skin of the writer and I feel that some of the subtlety would have been lost in the harder edged environment of the band. It also emphasises that Charlie also seems to be writing with different intents and it'll be interesting to see if he follows that through and starts seriously writing for other acts.

Whilst there is no direct comparison with George Harrison's "Here Comes The Sun", it's a good reference point for the light almost jangly pop sound that provides a real lift behind the vocal. It's simple voice and guitar stuff, but in all honesty that's all it needs to be, bright and breezy.

For all the lightness in the sound, Bateman does not allow it to hold back when it comes to the lyric, life is complex, it doesn't always follow expected paths, to be blunt, shit happens. Sometimes you shrug it off, dust yourself off and move on and sometimes you wallow. Over the course of the tracks, Bateman explores both positions. I guess a defining line is "What separates heaven from hell?"

I really enjoyed "Fall Out, Fall In" as a mini-album it passes the litmus test of leaving you wanting more. That may be sated by the new Thinker album or it may be that more solo material is required, either way, this is well worth exploring.

Neil King