Blabbermouth 'Agoraphobia' EP
Steve Thompson - aka Blabbermouth, has released his current EP agoraphobia in advance of his new album in September. A voice that could be compared to James Taylor's or Robin Pecknold always helps an aspiring folk musician. Sufjan style banjos and beaty, rhythmical Seth Lakeman strummed guitar and pounding drums back a focus on Thompson's sweet voice and poignant, witty lyrics - "it seems it's not the world itself, but the god damn people living in it".
Thompson suffers slightly from the Justin Vernon over-sweetness vocally. It's okay in small doses but eventually you want some more power and less whining.
The three tracks on this EP are quite different from one another, perhaps not the best move when a musician is trying to establish themselves and break in with a new sound - I can't quite pinpoint what the sound is.
It's an enjoyable EP but my disposition when thinking of the songs is that they are stuck in my head in a more irritating way than catchy. A victim of the Wilco factor, a little dull.