Paul Casey
Album: Big World
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 9
Website: https://www.paulcaseymusic.com

Having built a loyal following in his native Northern Ireland, Paul Casey is bidding for bigger things on this side of the water. His UK debut, Big World captures and old-fashioned musical auteur in determinedly creative mood as he plays and sings pretty much everything - most of it in his home studio.

The record opens with Big World, a massive airplay hit that cries out for a big band live production. Released as a single back home, it found favour at BBC Northern Ireland and created a calling card for the Derry singer, impressing with its assimilation of influences as diverse as Pink Floyd, World Party and Neil Young.

Different Planet, on the other hand, is a delicate piano poem about modern-day riots and sectarian tensions in which a child's voice amplifies the fragility, like a musical representation of staring at the night sky and joining the dots to make a better world to escape to. Such macro scale examination of the human condition makes an effective counterpoint to the widescreen opening track and the soaring AOR of Blow Away the Clouds.

Elsewhere, straight ahead pop like the dancey Something's Gotta Give and the 10cc-esque You Are provide tone and shade on an album that will find plenty of favour if it can make its case to enough open ears this winter.

Nick Churchill
www.thegranvillechambers.co.uk