The web is cluttered with solo singer-songwriters. How can one stand out? If you’re a one-man band stuck in Aberdeen, presumably by sending cds off to websites like this. And waiting. Eventually, a review may be forthcoming, either filled with platitudes, or mercilessly harsh in its criticism.
So for that we can only apologise to Philip, who is, we’re told in the handwritten letter, the person behind Debutant. Not for any pillioring, or even for the ‘aye, not bad’ helpful criticism that may follow. More for the length of time it’s taken to draw your attention to the tunes here. They are better than ‘not bad’ – yes, needing a little work perhaps, occasionally taking a while to get going, But the 4 tracks in this CD (and indeed at myspace) are very pleasant – and that’s not faint praise – pieces of semi-acoustic atmospherica. Lead tune ‘Thirst’ is a proper song, vocals buried deep in the mix, while ‘Solitude’ a simple guitar piece – both underpinned by thrumming synthesisers. ‘Jeanne d’Arc’ is a more standard indiepop tune, with understated guitar and fragile vocals and rather cack-handed clapping. However, this isn’t a bit problem, though they’re not quite rubbish enough to give any added charm to the tune. Closer ‘Definition’ is kind of stripped-down shoegaze, best accompanied by a lightshow comprised of flickering energy-saver bulbs rather than the traditional rotating laser banks and oil-lamp-style projections. Yes, for a first recording it’s clear that Debutant will have more to offer.
