ALEX BAY - EP REVIEW

Alex Bay - Daylight EP 
Alex Bay - Daylight

Hitchin. I don't know a lot about Hitchin. A couple of good friends of mine live there and the only time I went there it was ruddy hot and I spent the afternoon stood in a paddling pool holding a can of lager. The reason for this rambling about a Hertfordshire town is that this is the place that has spawned the Russell Brand-alike singer-songwriter Alex Bay and his new Daylight EP. Things kick off with 'Nobody Like You', a sweet country ballad that does a great job of introducing us to Bay's soft, gravelly tones and reminding me how good artists like Elliot Smith and The Treetop Flyers are. 'Waiting Game' is a little more James Morrison in sound and doesn't do much to stir my soul while 'Somewhere In A Memory' is like a slowed down reworking of some R'n'B song that I don't know (it's not, I just get that feeling from it). There's almost something of a young Rod Stewart about 'The Last Time' and you can see this kind of song going down a storm on Radio 2 but I'm gagging to hear young Alex really let those vocals soar on a big stomping rock tune by now. Unfortunately for me, final track 'Daylight' is another mellow, soulful acoustic number that will be sure to have the ladies swooning and hearts melting. Bay has an impressive voice and he knows how to use it but, much like the man with a sports car that only gets used on a Sunday, I want him to take it out a bit more and see what it can really do.


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