Ruarri Joseph - Tales Of Grime & Grit (Atlantic)
2/5
By: Dean Driscoll
The music industry is awash with singer-songwriters right now. Come to think of it, when isn't it? In the light of 'nu-rave' and the like, it may be construed as a return to honest songwriting values, rather than scenester posturing that affects much of the UK music scene right now. It would be more accurate, however, to suggest that this is more of a reflection of the inherent conservatism of major labels.
With his debut album, Ruarri Joseph would seem to be a counter-point to his loved/loathed labelmates Hadouken! - his brand of folk troubadour the polar opposite to the disposable day-glo antics of the NME faithful. With these kind of signings it's fairly obvious what the label hope will happen - a period of modest fanbase building on the live circuit (Joseph has supported Wilco, appeared at this year's Glastonbury and will be making further festival appearances at the likes of Latitude and Bestival) before that watershed Damien Rice / David Gray breakthrough that takes him to the playlists of Radio 2 and wider multi-platinum success.
The problem with such an approach is that there are just so many singer-songwriters out there with labels hoping to achieve the same success. With that in mind, your album had better at least have one 'Canonball', which alas 'Tales Of Grime & Grit' unfortunately doesn't. Whilst there's nothing ostensibly wrong with what Joseph's doing - it's all competent stuff, with a diverting Gogol Bordello-style East European flavour thrown into the mix - there's nothing here to make it stand out from the Ray LaMontagnes and Scott Matthews of this world. His voice is authentic enough, and the songwriting is solid, but there's very little edge to proceedings - the likes of David Viner do this type of thing much better. As Joseph himself sings on the album's penultimate track, "I wish I was more rock'n'roll". You're not the only one, mate.
Stream three tracks from 'Tales of Grime and Grit' HERE.
Artists in this article: Ruarri Joseph
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