I don’t think I’d heard of Paul Shevlin until his disc landed on my desk. Realistically, a lot of first releases tend to be a let down, releasing material a tad too early can be an artist’s downfall.
With Backfire (Set Them All Alight) there isn’t that problem at all. Released on DiDiMau Records the single shows Paul Shevlin to be a competent musician and songwriter of piano led indie rock. From the offset, it’s full steam ahead, where Shevlin has a distinct advantage here is that his music and style will cross markets and genres. While his press release says he has played with Duke Special, his sound could easily be stretch to the pop punk market. This is quite apparent during the first verse of Backfire. It’s a nicely produced, radio friendly track with some great subtle brass sounds. Melikes.
Track two on the CD is ‘Unwind’. Stripped of all the big production down to just piano and vocals, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Shevlin maybe even write for other people. This track shows Shevlin’s vocal range and how he beautifully manages to catch the emotion of the track.
Keep an eye out for him. Don’t be surprised if he’s added to many festival bills this summer.