King Creosote is the cure for people who find singer-songwriters in the mould of James Morrison, Paulo Nutini, Sophie Thom et al just that little bit too shallow. This is not all their fault - they are young and talented - but their lyrics lack eloquence and crucially, experience. Kenny Anderson has both in spades. And as one reviewer has pointed out, he has a wonderfully unique voice.
There are some beautiful songs on this album, and two I'll mention in particular. The first track - Not One Bit Ashamed - is heartbreakingly. It mournful tone catches you from the start, though it's not immediately obvious where the lyrics are heading. It sounds like a list of failures;
"You gave up on Easter, for your vegan chums. It's not good enough, it's not good enough"
"I gave up half of my liver, trying to keep up. It's not good enough, it's not good enough"
And then about two minutes into the song, spoken with frailty;
"I gave up half of my heart, and you gave a half-hearted shrug. It's not good enough, it's good enough"
The second track that stands out for me is the one KT Tunstall does vocals with Kenny on, Locked Together (I think it's this one!). It's wonderfully arranged, and a joy to hear.But it's not all doom and gloom. Much of the rest of the album is jaunty and wryly cheeky.
This album is a rare thing today, when the fashion is for record labels to take young, promising talent and overexpose it before it has had time to mature, here is someone just doing his own thing at his own pace.