Ruarri Joseph & cheery Cornish melodies
Ruarri Joseph is not Cornwall's answer to Jack Johnson
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Tuesday, 10, Jul 2007 02:18
Who's next? As a certain legendary band once asked. We seek to delve into the music industry and come up with a bountiful collection of stars to be. Or is that just wannabes? This week it's the turn of Cornish singer-songwriter Ruarri Joseph.
While the rise of the likes of James Blunt, Paolo Nutini and Ray LaMontagne have left the genre fairly stuffed, there's always room for some new singer-songwriter talent, especially if it means some cheery Cornish melodies entering the marketplace. And with Tales Of Grime & Grit, the debut album from Newquay boy Ruarri Joseph, Atlantic Records have brought us just that.
Packed full of laidback, lilting folk, Joseph's album is a place apart from the more forlorn, angst-ridden offerings from the singer-songwriter canon and more akin to the summery tunes of Van Morrison, Stephen Stills, or even Nick Drake.
With production from Paul Reeve (of Muse's Absolution fame), it's a laid-back, upbeat collection, with autobiographical efforts like Baby Finn and the (terribly-titled, to be honest) Cuddles Are The Best Thing managing to land just the right side of twee, thanks to some beautifully layered guitar lines and patently (but not painfully) heartfelt lyrics.
Ruarri (pronounced like brewery) goes so far as to admit that his music isn't designed to change the world, but in the bluesy stomp of the title track, the languid Californian rhythms of Blankets or the fantastically surprising pub singalong chorus of Early Morning Remedy, there's enough here for him to carve a well-warranted niche.
Reeve adds some delightful little touches, with subtle banjo and concertina asides somehow avoiding their surely natural destination of cringeworthy accompaniment and instead seeming entirely appropriate in such a wonderfully old-fashioned collection.
The record company might be billing Ruarri as Cornwall's answer to Jack Johnson, and while there's certainly some similarities, he's actually far more comparable to Cat Stevens, with the same honeyed vocals and warm, yet never mawkish, songwriting.
It's unlikely that there's anything here capable of achieving the same chart dominance of a You're Beautiful or You Give Me Something, but that's certainly not a bad thing. In fact, it'd be a nice change if an English singer-songwriter didn't grow from a pleasingly small following to complete control of the top 10 and the Tesco album chart.
Happily, a spot on the LA party scene and a model girlfriend aren't likely destinations for the 25-year-old, happily married with a daughter. "I'm not massively hungry for fame," he's said.
"I'm not chasing after a number one hit. All I want is to create a body of work that lasts. In the old days people used to release an album every year. I love that idea."
Lewis Bazley