After the release of his EP The Aeroplane Darling over the summer, Nicholas Stevenson hits the music scene with his first full length album entitled Phantom Sweetheart. This thirteen track album navigates through Stevenson’s creative mind in some positive ways. After listening to the album and gazing at some pretty interesting artwork on his personal website www.nicholasstevenson.com, it's easy to see that his imagination is quite broad.
The album starts off with the song “Hounds” and right away you get swept in as the volume slowly picks up. As Stevenson's vocals begin, his British accent shines through. There are a few words he says that are a bit overly British for my taste, such as when he says “Remember when we pulled your grand piano.” Maybe it's just the way he says piano, but I suppose it's all about preference really. The arrangement of the songs on Phantom Sweetheart is exceptional though. Each song is very mellow and definitely not meant for headbanging or things of that nature. Sorry to disappoint the metal heads out there. The folk aspect of Nicholas Stevenson's work is great on a few different levels. He may never catch on with the neo-folk crowd the way so many other folk songsmiths have recently, but he does have some potential. His unique voice and catchy music help make Phantom Sweetheart a worthy listen. I found myself randomly singing lines from the album in my head throughout the day, just because they stick that well. From a musically technical point of view, the album is very stripped down and simplistic in instrumentation but it does leave enough in to fill out the spectrum of highs and lows. Stevenson makes it work out.
Now if you scour the internet to find out a bit about Nicholas Stevenson’s past, you may not find exactly what you are looking for. Like his artwork, all I have found out about him and his upbringing is that he is a good story teller. I did find that Stevenson was born in 1989 and attends college at Hereford College of Arts. So he still has quite a few years to really work on all the talents that he’s been given. As you listen through the album, which you should do if you haven’t already, you will notice the story telling aspect is not limited to just his biography. He intertwines his acoustic folk with a good story to go along with it. Like the song “Never in New York,” in which he sings about going to find himself in the Big Apple. Sometimes the stories he tells and the actual music don’t match as well as they could. It almost feels like he tries to cram extra syllables into a line, which doesn’t always work like you think it should. It isn’t a big enough ordeal that the songs aren’t worth listening to though.
So if you need a relaxing drive home from work or some good party music, Phantom Sweetheart is a good option. Though young Nicholas Stevenson has a bright future in whatever field, or fields he decides to pursue, it is his musicianship and songwriting that stand out the most. If you look over his artwork and the fact he has an EP and an album out while going to an art college, Stevenson is a hard working and talented guy. So if you feel the need to support some up and coming artists or just want a good album in general, give it a try. I honestly don’t think you will be disappointed.
"Phantom Sweetheart" is on sale October 31, 2011 from Hilldrop.
