Newton Faulkner

Newton Faulkner is a name to remember no doubt about it. Sometimes evaluating something is not really a debatable thing as quality shines through. A correctly pulled pint of guiness, a fancy dribble and shot by Ronaldhino, Piazza San Marco in Venice , you can’t really argue if it’s drab or crap because you just know it’s not. Now I won’t attempt to compare Newton with such milestones but even if you don’t like his stuff, you know there’s quality there. Only 22 years old, he plays his handmade guitar in a very original style, all staccato and rhythmic which grabs your attention from the off.

But he’s still got something up his sleeve, an impressive voice and in an era of singer songwriters with wholesome voices, Newton still makes a mark.

This first album 'Hand Built By Robots’ is a showcase for his undoubted guitar skills carefully woven around melodic sensitive songs. They are pop(ular) but more in the David Gray, Joni Mitchell sense and not James Blunt style. There is dedication to detail in the guitar playing and band arrangements like Jack Johnson though its all more evolved I feel. Take the bass runs and vocal harmonies based around a delicate guitar hook on the fabulous 'All I Got’ which has quality hit stamped all over.

Newton looks quite startling too with his long red dreadlocked hair, again not quite fitting into the pretty boy round peg and you feel originality is the essence of his trade. High points on this rich album is the new single 'Dream Catch Me’, a really majestic cover of Massive Attack’s 'teardrop’, the sublime lyrics of 'Uncomfortably Slow’ the sad piano chord led 'Straight towards the sun’ sounds like early Paul McCartney in it’s bareness and nakedness. 'People should smile more’ is almost a rhythm guitar pop reggae that just makes you feel good be you young or old, alone or in company, up or down.

Try and give the album a listen even though I think the radio and television airwaves will enable you to hear NF over the next six months. Yes, be prepared to be drunk on the soulful melodies and tender lyrics of Newton Faulkner, or should I say 'as pissed as a Newton’.