Cross Rhythms – 13th July 2011

This year has seen singer/songwriter Liam burst onto the scene with an unequivocally strong debut album which, in addition to summer festival appearances at Greenbelt and Glastonbury, points towards a promising future for the Somerset songsmith. BBC broadcaster Phil Jupitus recently described Blake’s voice as “achingly lovely” and the same goes for the man’s remarkably mature writing skills. Containing a wealth of well-crafted melodic songs, this release features gems like the wonderful Prefab Sprout-like “Heart And Soul” whilst Blake straddles different styles from the folky opener “For Your Sake” to the bluegrass-tinged “I Felt Alive” to keep proceedings fresh. Elsewhere, songs like “Tell Me Beth, Do You Recall?” and “Simon” showcase the canny production skills of Chris Hughes (Paul McCartney, Adam And The Ants, Tears For Fears) and Mark Frith (Electric Soft Parade) and their involvement undoubtedly gives Blake a head start in terms of having his songs presented in such high quality fashion. Most definitely a mainstream release, there are a few references to God – albeit discrete ones – with “Feather” enigmatically telling of the writer’s heavenly Father and the tender closing track “Sinners And Saints” seeing Blake call upon God to save his soul. A hugely satisfying debut from an artist who has it all ahead of him. Lins Honeyman