Artist: Neil Wheatley
Title: L'Apparition
By Conor Duffy

Thanks to Andy N for letting me know about Neil Wheatley, and more importantly, convincing him that sending me a demo was a good idea. He was described to me as a cross between Belle and Sebastian and Elliott Smith, so I was interested to hear just how he sounds.

The good news is he sounds pretty damn fine. From opening track ‘Moper' I can also assume he's also not afraid to try different things, as it doesn't really sound anything like the other tracks. There's more of a garage rock feel to the song and the lyrics are a lot more straightforward. Neil's voice even sounds different, and to be honest it's not the best vocal performance he gives. However, he sounds a lot more comfortable with the other tracks, as the instruments get turned down and the lyrics a little more obtuse on ‘Hidden Depths.' ‘So Long' turns out to be a bit more uptempo, as a catchy flamenco groove propels the song.

I was a little annoyed that ‘Short Minor Blues' was so brief, but perhaps Neil remembered that very few white men can really play the blues and decided to quit while he was ahead. Still, he ensures that the CD ends on a high note. ‘Sit Tight' is a perfectly-constructed song that sees Neil mine from the same vein as Badly Drawn Boy before the guitars pile in two and a half minutes in. I'm a sucker for a good guitar hook and the one found on this track is a joy to hear.

It seems like a new singer-songwriter/solo artist (delete as appropriate) appears every other week. I figured that whole genre would finally reach saturation point a year ago, but I was clearly wrong. Neil Wheatley's certainly got the goods, the only obstacle in front of him now is convincing the world at large that he deserves their attention more than the other eighteen million guys and girls with guitars. He's got my attention, anyway.

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