Ed Romanoff: Ed Romanoff

He may hail from Brooklyn, aka 10th circle of hipster hell, but Ed Romanoff’s stoutly traditional songwriting is as far removed as you can get from eclectic neighbours such as Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors. A guitar hefter of the old school, on his debut album he borrows liberally from the canon: there’s a whiff of Bob Dylan about his discursive, rasping style, a dollop of Tom Waits in the way he dissembles in a half-croon as circus carnival soundscapes shudder in the background.

What saves the record from feeling like a pastiche are the subjects he tackles; ‘St Vincent de Paul’ movingly recounts Romanoff’s attempt to reconnect with his real father, ‘Breakfast For One On The 5th Of July’ is an emotive chronicling of heartache and loneliness. He has an impressive rolodex too; Josh Ritter chips in with backing vocals on several tracks and has co-write credits on ‘St Vincent’; Fairport Convention’s Dave Mattacks plays drums and Mary Gauthier duets on a version of Patsy Cline’s ‘Fall To Pieces’.