The perfect antidote to a crush
Ever had an unrequited teenage crush? 19 year old Owen Franklin has the medicine. His debut single from sophomore album "Portrait of the Young Man as an Artist" is the medicine. "The Not-So-Great Gatsby" flips the plot of the inter-war novel and drags it into the Inbetweeners' era with a confident flourish.
Simple riffs lead to Franklin coming to the realisation that his beloved isn't worth it with more instruments and a greater urgency being introduced. Some of the rhymes feel forced but as a release against rejection, it almost reads like the sort of poem you were forced to analyse in class, perhaps looking for implications that aren't there. The song is basic, but this is it's strength, allowing Franklin to showcase his ability to draw the listener in through the commonality of the situation.
There's two B-Sides included, both from his album (available as a name your price download). 'The Tempest (Part One)' features ethereal female vocals alongside Franklin's lament about growing older, set to a minimalistic acoustic guitar track. The other song, 'She Walks in Beauty' (a 19th Century Lord Byron poem, duh) is a more uptempo effort. Franklin's vocals really shine through and I got the feeling that the song would actually benefit from a more stripped-down arrangement to highlight this.
Double Owen Franklin's age, force him to smoke 20 cigarettes a day, give him at least one divorce and the UK will have itself one hell of a musician. Right now, there's a risk that his songs come across as a teenage English Lit student that's a little bit too happy to get a Shakespeare reference in. That said, there are moments in "The Not-So-Great Gatsby" that bring a genuine smile. He's smug yet self-depreciating at the same time and hearing what he does next should be interesting.