Sunday Times – 14th August 2011

Breaking Act

Who is he?

A singer-songwriter from Bath, Brookes is timing his run nicely: a folk troubadour whose work has clear echoes of John Martyn and more recently, Laura Marling, Noah and The Whale and Mumford & Sons. His beautiful self-titled debut album arrive on the same tide that has swept Ed Sheeran and Ben Howard into contention. Like the latter in particular, Brookes’s chances won’t be hurt by his photogenic good looks. Musically, he excels at propulsive, narratively rich folk, delivered in a soaring, clear-as-a-ball singing voice that make every word of his evocative, detailed lyrics count. There is scarcely a shortage currently of pin-sharp, bucolic folk artists, but Brookes claims a deserved place at the forefront of this still-vibrant movement.
DC