If you remember earlier I said I would be reviewing this album and that the guy has/had an interesting backstory:
Simon le Fort is a singer songwriter and pianist who, according to his site's biography came close to never making it into the recording studio. Simon sent tape recordings of his music to producer Matt Butler whilst still at school. Butler mislaid the tapes and never responded to Simon and Simon stopped writing and followed the more conventional route of University. However, 7 years after he received them, Matt Butler came across the cassettes he had been sent. On first play he knew he had stumbled across something good, immediately signing him up to record with Alto Records. Inspired, Simon was again thrust into his music and completed the album ‘Tuesday Blue’.
Excuse the 'press speak' I couldn't be bothered to type my own version of it all out, but you get the idea...
Now on to what I thought of the album.
The album opens with the track ‘Nothing Changes’ which describes the common situation of being stuck-in-a-rut and hankering to make a change. The album quickly moves onto ‘Why’ a song discussing current political issues and the state of the nation. However, despite these heavy and thought provoking topics, the album maintains an upbeat, cheerful sound, with clever lyrics and wandering melodies.
Other standout tracks include the title track 'Tuesday Blue', and 'If you were me' both of which you can hear on Simon's myspace page HERE
I enjoyed the album much more than I originally expected to and with a careful ear there are echoes of Rufus Wainwright, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Elton John and James Taylor, I wouldn't be comfortable putting the man in the same league as any of these artists to be honest but this is a very strong debut album with a lot to offer, lyrically and melodically.
There is currently no set release date for this album but it is expected to be out in late September or early October. I will keep you posted if I hear specifically when it's gonna land.
Simon's site can be found HERE as always, let me know what you think!
Cheers
TMM
