Michael Leonard Witham

“Murican” music man Michael Leonard Witham owes a healthy amount to serendipity in the conception of his debut album, ‘A Scandal in the Violets’ – a self-confessed “junk collector”, he first got into music by stumbling upon a busted guitar behind an Indianan strip mall. It was then that he decided to give this music lark a go and since then, despite improving drastically, there’s a noteworthy gracelessness that works in the greenhorn’s favour. ‘A Scandal in the Violets’ is a cornucopia of countrified yarns with a little something different.

It doesn’t take long before you deduce that Witham has a knack of conveying a wealth of life experiences in a few chosen lyrics. As each song transpires, you feast on a similar bittersweet overtone within the stories that provokes you to question whether the cited events have been dear or destructive to the outlook of the man from Little Rock, Arkansas. Affectionately known as the “songwriter’s songwriter” in some circles, his songs are whimsically diegetic akin to archetypal country music but Witham’s confident (occasionally overly so), neo-yokelish persona shines through.

Beneath that rather erudite exterior, Witham’s unstably unique vocal delivery quivers and cracks with prickly edginess. It’s very uncanny but it acts as a fascinating foil to the soulful folksiness of the compositions. Still, the forcefulness of such a raw, occasionally unmelodious style means that the listener can gauge his vulnerability and emotionality simply; I mean, even if he was just reading the meal deals on a Chinese takeaway menu, you’d probably empathise with his struggle to perform the correct pronunciations, and therein lies the biggest pull that this quaint album has to offer.

Effortlessly blending soul, folk rock and alternative country, ‘A Sandal in the Violets’ is authentic Americana, steeped in years of rustic tradition that has been smartly revitalised for the modern audience. Wade through the themes of trust, love and loss and I’m sure the personal perspective will be multifarious but the overriding morals are all too familiar and relatable.

Coco Chanel once said that “simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance” – Witham’s 10-track album is testimony to those eloquent words. Don’t expect anything outlandish; just prepare yourself to mellow out to tuneful, calming music.