Nick Mulvey's richly textured, elegant voice has the capability to become one of your favourite artists of 2014. The former Portico Quartet member's debut solo album is an enticing and intricately detailed record that calls to mind the warmth of classics, such as Peter Broderick's 'Home' and Jose Gonsalez's 'Veneer'.
This is just one strand of the 28-year old's impressive accolades and talents. Now based in East London, the multi-instrumentalist has supported Laura Marling and London Grammar on tour, been named as one of the BBC Radio 1's artists of the year, and played an impressive set at this year's historic Glastonbury Festival. If that wasn't impressive enough, he was also a starting member of the Mercury Prize nominated jazz band Portico Quartet. From playing in small churches to selling out shows on his own tour, the singer has come a long way over the past three years.Mulvey states that the name, 'First Mind', explains how he writes his music; based on instinct, rather than thorough, pre-meditated thought. That said, the album's influences are hard to pin-point on the first listen. At heart, the record is classic Americana-folk, but defining this beautiful piece of work into one sentence would be a complete crime. Traditional and experimental acoustics are mixed with delicate mild-electronic touches which form little diamonds in the rough. Although the beautifully contemplative songs are shrouded in an air of Paul Simon, Nick Drake and Ben Howard, Mulvey's degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London has also unexpectedly been put to use here. Finger-plucking guitar rhythms happily coincide with the Afro and calypso rhythms; a combination that would usually be cynically judged, yet Mulvey makes it his own.
Across these soundscapes, Mulvey tentatively sings about a world of love-lost, complicated relationships, the judgemental society we live in and the struggle of fitting in. The sublime 'Meet Me There' finds a groove in his world-weary, gentle tongue-twister "after all the people picking people picking people apart". The soft lamenting of 'Nitrous' surprisingly, yet outstandingly, transforms into a 90's style upbeat laughing gas-seller, where he steals lines from Olive's dance hit 'You're Not Alone'. However, it's 'Cucurucu' and 'Fever To The Form' that steal the limelight on the record. The tracks deal with the honest sentiment of the 'yearning to belong' and the difficulty of wanting more out of a failing relationship; stunning and building, they both cause you to get caught up in the embellishment, which fizzes and soars but leaves you feeling strangely helpless.
A brilliant record. The ambience, grooves and melodies here will prove to be irresistible, and this record will soon become the soundtrack for you this summer.
Check out 'Fever To The Form' below.
