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James Yuill - Turning Down Water For Air

Album Reviews

A lovely clash of acoustic musings and electronic nuances.

James Yuill’s fingers skim the fret-board with something closing on assurance. There is deftness and a lightness which carries each song on lightly to the end. 'You Always Do' has a melancholy core which threads of lyrics wind around and the soft guitar creates a modern day lullaby, haunting refrains of ‘Won’t You Stay With Me?’ provides a heart aching message. On the other hand there is the brooding, electro ridden 'Left Handed Girl' which still has the same lightness of guitar combined with a sinister backbeat. These two songs sit side-by-side on the album perhaps showing the range of Yuill. Further on comes 'The Ghost' which allows strong strums to hover underneath the even stronger vocals as skittering drums carry on through the song.
'No Surprise' however wraps every nuance of what came before and smashes it into one song. Lightness and up-tempo lie beside the broodier efforts too. Unlike 'You Always Do' this could hit the indie clubs and guarantee more than head-nodding, shock-horror people might even dance! If David. E. Sugar mellowed a little it might sound like this or if the Whitest Boy Alive became less lethargic.

'How Could I Loose?' has something of the Shins about it ('Chutes Too Narrow' era). Soft violins echo in the background as acoustic guitar provides the main focus and following it is 'Breathing In' which is possibly the most subtle song on the album. Dainty guitar and pared down vocals means the album ends almost how it began.

It’s a lovely clash of acoustic musings and electronic nuances which are all put into check with Yuill’s strong vocals. Something which could sound like a bit of a mess (think The Whip merging with Simon & Garfunkle maybe) has actually turned into something distinctly individual and appealing. Rating: 7/10