Tough guy sings the blues
He looks like he’s invoking Elvis with his quiff and soulful eyes and folks hear all sorts of past-ghosts in his music — good ghosts though — Nick Drake, Buddy Holly, Nick Lowe, Roy Orbison. It’s true, Brown has that dreamy, slightly melancholic sort of vocals where even a hopeful song like Love Will Find You is likely to make you tear up if it plays on your iPod on your commute to work (listen for a sample of Phil Spector’s Be My Baby drumbeat on the track).
So, details. Brown is British, he was on a path to jail, a street brawling, bare-knuckle fighting tough guy from Yorkshire. An injury that left him homebound for weeks wrought a transformation — the fighter turned musician. Broke, he sold the Beatles autographs bequeathed to him by his grandfather, bought a guitar and began recording.
He’s released three albums, All Good Things (2006), Separated by the Sea (2007) and December 2009’s Love Will Find You.
Funnily enough, he first got noticed because Mastercard featured his track Come Home in their ads but you must remember, Nick Drake’s posthumous comeback was also fuelled by an ad featuring Pink Moon.
Brown’s latest album has been produced by ex-Suede guitarist, Bernard Butler who is credited with bringing a vintage gleam to this album of rich acoustics and bittersweet lyrics.
He’s certainly worth looking up, there are several videos on YouTube and you can sample music on his MySpace page.
Brown has now moved to New York to ‘make it in America’ and he’s already landed an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.
Genesia alves
The Asian Age