Sukh
Album: Kings
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 9
Website: http://www.iamsukh.com

The opening chords of 'Arisen', the first track of the debut album released by doctor turned singer-songwriter Sukh, are softly but precisely strung and really carry you away on a dreamboat of relaxation.

With the second song 'Kings', you get hit by a jaunty, jolly tune with a positive beat that gets you itching to move to it and sing along to the clinical but charming lyrics. Sukh has really excelled in being able to bring true feeling into music; it's a rare talent he has to be able to infuse such positive emotions into this science influenced folk album, and even rarer that he can manage to totally capture my attention by just the second song. Sukh began writing music at the tender age of 16, scoring a film for school, and after years of playing in bands he found his natural aptitude lies in solo work and his inspirations have included the literary, from Russian authors Tolstoy and Turgenev to the psychiatric elements of Viktor Frankl's 'man's search for meaning'.

You would think that music and medicine, being such opposites, would not gel together and create anything even worth listening to but I must say this album has been a terrific listen and Sukh has really secured the final suture with the closing song 'Now/ Tomorrow'. Being one of the more morose tracks of the album, it's almost as if the album is saying goodbye to me and thanking me for listening to it; instead I feel like I should be the one thanking Sukh for bringing forth this charming, graceful album filled with such hope and warmth.

Sophie Babur-Puplett