Week 1 - 'Skybound' by Tom Baxter

So here it is, the first of the 52. Each week I'm going to try and cover the same things, namely who the artist is, why I chose this album and then a general review of what the music is like. I'll also look to see how it fits in with others from across the year by attempting to rank it amongst all others I have heard - how long that part lasts will remain to be seen!

The name Tom Baxter is not really one that would be synonymous with Radio 1 listeners or in fact listeners of any radio station that I can think of. He is an male solo artist by trade and I am led to believe he originates from our (sometimes) glorious capital city of London. From what I can tell from the album's booklet, to call him a solo artist is in fact a bit of lie. Inside you find photos and messages that give somewhat of a family feel including the whole band, producer and manager. There's even a love message from Tom to his (male) violinist giving the feeling that a lot of emotion has gone into this album. Of course how much of this is real and how much is a cunning marketing ploy remains to be seen, I hope it is the former.

So why 'Skybound'? I have to admit, for this particular week my options were limited to... well... this album. Apparently the music industry thinks that no-one actually buys cds at this time of the year. However I may have been drawn to it anyway. From the limited information I found about Tom (mainly from favourite site www.last.fm) I found similarities with some artists I already listen to such as Ed Harcourt and so it was chosen.

The most striking thing about the album is its good use of acoustic music throughout. So often these days do bands do the odd acoustic track to add a bit of variety but often that just boils down to an electro-acoustic guitar being brought out instead of the usual stratocaster. Here acoustic music is done properly creating an atmosphere not found in many current releases. The vocals on the record are strong throughout and this is definately Tom's strong point. He sounds mature beyond the years that he appears to have seen, indeed this debut record could easily be his fifth, such is the quality of the recording. If fault has to be found at some point it should be said that some of the songs feel overly long. Indeed this album, only 10 tracks long, lasts four minutes short of an hour making this album hardly one you can listen to for quick blast on your generic white mp3 player. Stand out tracks are 'Miracle', the title track as well as the opener 'A Night Like This'.

How does it compare to the rest of this years releases? Well I think that doesn't really need saying yet but it is a strong release to say the least. The fact that Jem said it was the best record I'd bought in a long time shows that it definitely has some appeal to a certain section of the population. I'm not sure I'd agree its the best I've bought but if he were to support someone like Damien Rice on tour, 'Skybound' would probably start flying off the shelves. So here's an idea to leave you with, if you're really stuck on Valentines Eve and its a toss up between chocolates and 'Skybound', go for the latter and your lass will almost certainly not regret your choice.