Following hot on the heels of last years fantastic 'Tiger Tom Dixon's Blues', this new album has a lot to live up to - and on 'Stray Dogs' he really delivers on the promise evident in his debut album.
He's an Americana singer/songwriter in a similar mould to Slaid Cleaves (with whom he wrote the massive hit 'Broke Down', and they share two writing credits here), but he has an individual style all of his own. His gravel-tinged vocals are smooth and effortless, the musical backing is varied and dynamic, and the overall sound is elegant and sophisticated. Even when shifting from the full-on 'Stray Dogs', to the acoustic and heartfelt 'Need You Bad' the 'feel' of the album is always present - nothing is forced and there's an air of confidence and quality throughout the twelve tracks.
The disc has many elements that stand out - the simple and effective instrumentation (mainly acoustic guitar augmented by electric & bass guitar, and strings), and the understated backing vocals from Alison Krauss and Slaid Cleaves, but the real highlight here is the songwriting. On first listen the melodies really grab you, but closer inspection reveals lyrics with a common touch, tales, characters, feelings, and phrases from real life - he's up there with any songwriter you can think of.
'Stray Dogs' is a collection with huge appeal, instantly likeable, lyrically and musically strong, and with a couple of big names helping out - everything is in place to make this the huge success it deserves, and is likely to be. An outstanding disc.

£13.49