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Here are a collection of reviews of 'Fingerprint ep'.
GOD IS IN THE TV
Stylusboy - Fingerprint EP
Owain Paciuszko
With lead track OPEN instantly charming with its laidback, wistful, alt-country vibe this promises to be a fine, delicate, well-crafted EP from Coventry based singer-songwriter Stylusboy. Mixing a sense of melancholy akin to Aqualung with a sense of the melodic that recalls the lighter side of Ryan Adams. Aided by the presence of a few friends adding additional percussion, keys and sweet backing vocals by Rachel Grisedale, there's a warmth and richness abundant in this first track that manages to pluck you out of wherever you may be and drop you, snugly, into Stylusboy's world.
Jigsaw has a slow, steady beat and wisps of Tom McRae to the tender, tingling refrain of 'All your pieces, beautiful.' Recorded primarily in his lounge, with drums recorded in a local community centre, there's a handmade and personal touch to the songs, but not to the production value; which is impressive and indicative of great care to truly capture the soft, emotive sound of Stylusboy. As he sings 'This might just be so easy and perfect' on Stopclock you can't help but think it's a good comment on the effortless quality of this six-track itself.
Back to the Start sounds like Aidan Smith on a summery road-trip, lively guitar strumming and a buoyant bass-line causing involuntary toe-tapping. Meanwhile Roses and Love Hearts is a straight-forward pop song, with all the sappy, sincerity of the potential titular gifts; sure there's cliche there, but there's an honesty to his lyrics that may have the romantically minded planning its place on a Feb 14th mix CD. Whilst closing track A Song for Noah has a folk quality alongside its sentimental lyrics, it's a mix that manages to work well thanks to the conviction in Stylusboy's voice and the obvious connection (a rarity) between the singer and his words.
Stylusboy, over this neat nugget of an ep, manages to set his stall out excellently; a purveyor of wonderful melodic acoustic pop, that is filled with charm and genuine emotion in a way that one hopes earns him the kind of mainstream appreciation that is won, and undeserved, by the likes of Damien Rice and Jamie Cullum. As far as singer-songwriters go Stylusboy isn't doing anything new or daring, but he's doing - as he puts it on Roses and Love Hearts - 'something simple' but doing it excellently.
4 out of 5 stars
www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk
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The Boar - Warwick University's Newspaper
Stylusboy - Fingerprint Ep
Jess Colman
As most students will have discovered, Coventry isn't exactly the musical hub or fiery core of culture that we all wish it was. Amongst the dreary high rise buildings, everstretching suburban roads and the dispiriting dominance of Primark in the city centre, all traces of creativity seem to have been sapped up a long time ago. The Enemy, for example, and their pitiful excuse for music, hail from Coventry. Stylusboy - Steve Jones's acoustic fuelled alter ego - is also a local, often playing gigs in pubs in the Coventry and Leamington areas. For him to have embarked upon a musical career whilst immersed in such a soulless environment, is very brave indeed. Fortunately, his perseverence and his efforts haven't gone to waste.
His debut EP, Fingerprint, is a heartfelt emotional journey, interwoven with pretty harmonies and echoes of melancholy. Like many singer songwriters, Stylusboy relies mostly on the raw honesty of his lyrics like "life is not all about roses and lovehearts" and his melodies, both of which intertwine throughout the record to make something charmingly natural and easy to listen to.
At no point in the EP does he try to be something that he's not there are no inane and unnecessary remarks on politics or popular culture, for instance but his music still has a sense of purpose, conveyed through the simple emotions enveloping his melodies. 'Stop-clock', arguably the best song on the record, is a heartwrenchingly tender song, shrouded in melancholy and hope, whilst 'Back to the Start' is more upbeat, reminiscent of buskers sitting on street pavements and singing their hearts out.
Although the EP has nothing innovative it is, after all, just another record from another singer songwriter there is something intrinsically meaningful about it. Even big shot music site 'God is in the TV' has picked up on Stylusboy, commenting that he mixes "a sense of the melancholy akin to Aqualung, with a sense of the melodic that recalls the lighter side of Ryan Adams." It's the perfect soundtrack for a rainy day or a lazy Sunday morning, simple and charming, scraping together all the pieces of your soul that you thought you lost back in Coventry.
The Boar - Warwick University's Newspaper
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DIE SHELLSUIT DIE! EZine
Stylusboy - Fingerprint Ep
Dan Searles
Stylusboy can best be described as melodic acoustic fare, but there is more to the music than that, in fact I just can't put my finger on it. What I will say is that the Fingerprint EP considering it was recorded in singer songwriter Stylusboy's living room is nothing short of amazing. The songs are chock full of thought provoking lyrics and intricate melodies.
Stand out songs for me are OPEN and Jigsaw, which are of a standard I'd expect to be hearing on the radio right now. I can't say enough about how good these songs sound, you'd think he'd spent weeks at a professional studio mixing these tracks. They also mage to not only sound like good studio tracks but also have a live quality that make them come alive from your speakers.
The only real let down is part of that live aspect and that is the scratchy acoustic guitar strings you can hear on Stopclock and Roses and Love Hearts, which detract from the songs. Other than this, Fingerprint is a joy to listen to.
www.dieshellsuit.co.uk
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Sheep Dressed Like Wolves
Stylusboy (Fingerprint EP)
Andy Mort
It was a lovely August morning and the postman arrived to present a brown package with my name on it. I ripped it open and was presented with Fingerprint EP, the 6-track debut release from Coventry singer-songwriter Stylusboy. I was on my way to Suffolk so I popped it straight into my car and listened to it as I travelled down the A14. Without realising I found myself listening to it on repeat and singing along as it went around for about the sixth time. It is an endearing, inquisitive and delicate record full of hope at which you just can’t help but smile. There are certainly hints of Stylusboy’s named influences such as Badly Drawn Boy and Damien Rice but it manages to sit in its own unique box where I keep finding myself strangely drawn to. I picked up some Tom McRae (King of Cards) and for me the real standout track 'Stopclock' has hints of Jose Gonzalez' soft and layered vocals as it takes you on a trip to a place where you feel you could just be intruding on a moment of solitary fragility. If you want meaningful and poignant song writing without being preached at then look to Stylusboy. It is a renewed innocence filled with hope and light during a dark and hopeless day.
Every copy of the EP is beautifully presented with a unique photograph, number and fingerprint so it is well worth getting your hands on one of these delightful CDs before they run out.
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Old Age Hipster
Fingerprint ep - Stylusboy
Ben Mainwaring
I have to say I've been a fan of Steve Jones songwriting for a while, both with his scuzzy pop band Lowdrive, (creator of some of the most hummable tunes to come out of coventry in a looong while (pay attention Tom Clarke!) and now under his Stylusboy moniker.
Stripping away the fuzzy guitars of his previous band Jones has managed to put together a lovely debut ep of hushed folk pop - bedecked in lush acoustic guitars and pretty little counterpoints that pop up out of nowhere, providing unexpected pockets of uber melodic fun.
Unafraid to wear his heart on his guitar strap throughout, these homerecorded demos offer up a real "one to watch" for anyone of a singer songwriter (think Badly Drawn Boy, Steven Fretwell that kinda vibe) bent. Ive put a live video below of the boy himself at the recent EP launch - for now though your well advised to get hold of a copy of the Fingerprints ep for yourself soon!!
Lovely stuff.
www.oldagehipster.blogspot.com
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Spotlight on Indies
Fingerprint ep by Stylusboy
Jef Peace
Stylusboy has managed to make me considerably soften my stance on acoustic pop rock with their precise instrumentation and their impeccable vocals. The lyrics, too, tend to make me quite a bit more tolerant of the genre: they are creative, light-hearted, contemporary and not in the least smarmy with only a couple lines in danger of being trite.
I've had the pleasure of 'chatting' with lead singer Steve Jones via email and found him to be lucid, pleasant and respectful; traits all too lacking in young artists these days. In addition to his admirable email persona, Steve Jones has a very, very good voice and uses it well on this EP. His enunciation is clear and his timing and pitch are nothing short of perfect. I have a feeling his range is even broader than he exhibits on this EP, which is impressively broad indeed. In addition to providing vocals, he exhibits mastery of both bass and guitar. The bass in particular caught my ear right away. Being a bass player myself, I admire and am even a little jealous of the effortless and tasteful bass lines in a couple of these songs.
Tim Bowes provides metronome precision with his masterful use of drums, cymbals and other percussion throughout this EP. I'm not easily impressed by drummers, but he has managed to impress me with his restraint and precision as well as his creative choices of which tom, snare or cymbal to tap at any given moment.
Rachel Grisedale provides hair-raising harmonies on a couple of these songs. The sadly few notes she provides me leaves me wanting to hear a solo from her.
Becky Jones is another precise musician. Not once did I catch any lagging or mishaps in any of the keyboard parts. In fact, the only criticism I have of this entire EP is I'd like to hear her stretch out on occasion and prove she's as good as I think she might be.
Prior to listening to this EP, I had never heard anything from this genre I found worth listening to a second time and in direct conflict with that opinion, I often find myself playing a couple of these songs for the pure pleasure of hearing nice music while I go about my day. Thanks for that, Stylusboy!
One final note: even though Steve Jones provided me with the mp3 album and a physical copy was mine for the asking, I chose to put my money where my mouth is and purchase this EP, something I've only done twice before out of hundreds of reviews. I urge you to support this worthy artist and purchase a copy yourself by visiting Big Cartel. I also urge you to visit the band's MySpace page to learn more about them.
www.spotlightonindies.com
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FATEA
Stylusboy
EP:Fingerprint EP
There's a plethora of good honest singer/songwriter driven acoustic pop around at the moment. Whilst Stylusboy draws on the familiar, there is also something distinctive about him. It's no coincidence I chose that analogy. "Fingerprint EP" has it's own style, slightly jauntier, more uptempo than some of it's contemporaries. The percussion features quite high in the mix providing a sharp counterpoint to the more ethereal quality of the voice, a quality enhanced by the harmonies of the backing singing. There's a real sense of promise contained in these tracks, worth checking out.
www.fatea-records.co.uk