Alex Gregory - One Of The Same Kind EP
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| Alex Gregory - One Of The Same Kind |
I met young Alex Gregory a few
weeks ago in Exeter where she was good enough to hand me a copy of her new EP,
'One Of The Same Kind'. That EP has been firmly lodged in my car's CD player
ever since and I have only just been able to bring myself to bring the CD in to
the house to review it. Quite simply, Alex Gregory is a supreme talent
with voice that just won't quit and the
ability to surprise you at every turn. 'May To September' is the first track on
this collection of five and within moments you can see why Ms Gregory has
already received so much attention. The laid back, summery acoustic guitar
provides a beautifully chilled bed upon which Alex's voice unfurls like a cat
luxuriating in the early summer sun before a gentle beat and nudging bass line
join in to flesh the song out and let the vocals soar. There is a Brother &
Bones meets Mumford & Sons folkishness to 'A Story' as Alex explores her
darker side with some low piano notes and lightly picked out acoustic guitar
notes keeping things simple but oh so effective.
On 'Black Books' our talented
heroine switches to a piano melody which could easily be Florence Welch or
early Ellie Goulding as Alex's voice (which I am now firmly in love with) shows
new depth, range and emotional evocativeness. My only criticism of this EP is
the title track is buried too far down as it is such a huge tune and shows off
Alex's ability to take things to a more up-tempo place. 'One Of The Same Kind'
has a light, Crowded House-esque melody but Alex's vocal is dark and menacing
as she pleads with the object of her desires that "In the end you'll see,
you should be with me" - I'm sure this is meant as an expression of
frustrated, unrequited love but does sound ever so slightly stalkerish. It is
on this song that you really start to see how this talented lady has the natural
ability to craft a song, write lyrics that don't follow a predictable path and
create a hook that makes you come back for more and more. And more. Final
track, 'Sinking', is a gentle piece of acoustic beauty that allows us to revel
in Gregory's lush vocal tones and imagine slowly drifting on a still lake as
the warm breeze brushes past until that unpredictability comes in to play again
and things are kicked up a notch before gradually dying away. It is always
enormously gratifying when you come across a genuinely talented musician in
this game but it is particularly pleasing when that musician comes from your
neck of the woods as well. I would urge you to check out Alex Gregory when
you've got half an hour to properly let the music and words sink in - this is
not fast food stuff, this is quality home cooking at its best.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/AlexGregoryMusic
Live Dates:
7th June - Castlewood Wine Festival, Axminster