A young UK based singer-songwriter with a self-confessed Jeff Buckley fixation, Lawson was seen recently supporting The 4 of Us and Bell XI around Ireland
Like his acknowledged hero, he combines a distinctive, pained vocal style with a world-weary lyrical outlook. While the line “go down to the river and cleanse your soul” on ‘Union Street’ may or may not be a reference to Buckley’s tragic drowning in the Mississippi, there is no doubting his influence of Buckley on virtually every song here. For the most part his songs deal with those subject matters dear to the heart of vulnerable young men everywhere – heartbreak, loneliness and hopelessness.
It’s not as bleak or morose as it might sound with songs ranging from the relatively upbeat ‘Wheat For Billie’ to the plaintive acoustic fare of ‘Almost All The Time’, an impressively tender love song. You almost feel for him as he sings lines like “you are everything I miss” on the Coldplay-like ‘Heal A Bone’ while ‘It’s Over’, as the title suggests, is a break-up song almost as melodramatic as the Roy Orbison classic of the same name.
While not recommended listening for the recently jilted or the manic depressives among you, there is still something appealing about Lawson’s take on these themes.