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Elliott Smith's XO was always going to be the kind of album that inspired legions of imitators; 22-year-old Welshman Matthew Jay has at least distinguished himself by being among the first. Draw, his debut album, is not a bad record by any means, but it's difficult to judge it on its own merits when most of its merits (the hoarse and trebly vocals, the subtle melodies, oblique lyrics and off-kilter arrangements) are so directly and obviously traceable from someone else's work. Elliott Smith obviously has his influences as well--Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, Nick Drake--but he, like all genuinely great artists, managed to transcend
Elliott Smith's XO was always going to be the kind of album that inspired legions of imitators; 22-year-old Welshman Matthew Jay has at least distinguished himself by being among the first. Draw, his debut album, is not a bad record by any means, but it's difficult to judge it on its own merits when most of its merits (the hoarse and trebly vocals, the subtle melodies, oblique lyrics and off-kilter arrangements) are so directly and obviously traceable from someone else's work. Elliott Smith obviously has his influences as well--Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, Nick Drake--but he, like all genuinely great artists, managed to transcend them to the point where he was worthy of comparison with them. Matthew Jay possesses the rudiments of a songwriting talent--a song as beguiling as "You're Always Going Too Soon" would hardly have happened otherwise--and it is to be hoped that he, and his potential audience, take heart from the recollection that it took Elliott Smith a good three or four albums to get where he was going. --Andrew Mueller
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Manufacturer: Food
Release date: 9 April 2001
EAN: 0724353156022 UPC: 724353156022
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