SOUND JUDGEMENT

THE LATEST ALBUM RELEASES RATED AND REVIEWED

DAN OWEN – STAY AWAKE WITH ME ★★★★★ DAN Owen, a 25-yearold former carpenter from Shrewsbury, has a distinctive, throaty and sometimes gravelly voice well beyond his years.

His debut is an accomplished collection that deftly crosses the increasingly blurry lines between rock, pop, soul and blues.

Owen, who describes the record as a “collection of personal stories and experiences”, lays himself bare on songs such as Icarus. The fifth track, Hideaway, feels like the record’s peak, an epic punch of rocky-bluesy musicality combined with Owen’s resounding vocals.

The market is currently a bit over-saturated with young male solo stars, but there might be space left for a talent like this, if the Sheerans and the Ezras scooch over just a bit.

GABRIELLE – UNDER MY SKIN ★★★★★ HARDLY anything on Under My Skin, Gabrielle’s first record in 11 years, sounds remotely like her only UK number ones, Dreams and Rise.

The vocal is unmistakably Gabrielle’s and her performances on the likes of Every Step and Signs demonstrate quality is the reason for her longevity, even if it has not yielded perennial success.

Die-hard Gabrielle fans will see the record as a triumphant return, mixing funk, soul, R&B and Motown. But there may not be enough depth or variety to win over legions of new admirers.

STILL CORNERS – SLOW AIR ★★★★★ SLOW Air is the fourth album from Greg Hughes and Tessa Murray and, while it’s unlikely to set the charts on fire, it should make essential listening for everyone with a taste for reverb-heavy guitars, synth riffs and lyrics about driving at night and dancing in the rain.

Sometimes the tracks meander in a pleasant but narcoleptic fashion, and instrumental, Welcome To Slow Air, is uncomfortably close to the sort of muzak that used to accompany the BBC test card.

However, when it drifts into focus, as on the Fleetwood Macchannelling The Message and Fade Out, Slow Air could be the soundtrack to the best Eighties teen movie you’ve never seen.