Where Folk Meets Electro.
Sam Duckworth (aka Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly) is going to be huge, actually, he's probably already half way there; having his debut album released on Atlantic might give an inkling of where he is headed. He has a sound somewhere between Dashboard Confessional and Billy Bragg, perhaps post-emo if you want to call it something and slap a label on it. He's a British singer songwriter with folk roots but also has an added electronica angle which makes his tunes into something much more contemporary; his distinctive style goes from all out folk on 'Once more with Feeling' to the anthemic on 'The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager (Part One)'.
Getting past the hype is quite hard, because he seems to be everywhere at the moment, but if you get right down to it, there are plenty of reasons he is getting so much attention. His debut album is packed with good tunes and considering the often minimal and stripped bare sound, there's a lot of variety to be had. On tracks like 'Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly' and 'Whitewash is Brainwash' he uses squidgy electro beeps and beats to create a fuller sound, and often on many of the tracks, the sound of brass can be heard floating in and out of the tunes. A few of the tracks, like recent double A side single 'I Spy/Call Me Ishmail' have a really catchy almost danceable beat to them and suck you right in to the record.
Duckworth's lyrics are as passionate and inspiring as his delivery of them, and this makes what could have been another run of the mill singer songwriter album with quite catchy tunes, into something way more poignant and touching. He tells it as it is, gives us stories about being away from home whilst touring, drinking with strangers, sleeping on various floors and missing home once in a while. But, as he says in 'The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager (Part One)', "This song is more than a self-indulgent rant..." and it often is; this glimpse inside the head of a 20 year old on the road is also a slice of British life that is fascinating to listen to, and his sometimes melancholy, sometimes joyful but always full on performance will, given half a chance, probably worm its way inside your head and refuse to let go. Definitely worth a listen or two.