Rod Davies is a self-taught musician and a professional singer with a wealth of experience, having supported the likes of Tina Arena and Mark Seymour, and also having worked as a session singer and as ‘the voice’ on several TV commercials. Oh, and somehow he’s also managed to fit in a bit of studying along the way – resulting in a degree in psychology, no less. Davies is blessed with a high, clear, Neil Finn-esque voice and as one of the members of the ‘new acoustic pop rock’ movement he also has the gift of a great storytelling voice. The opener Favourite Songs is a corker, with poignant lyrics and beautiful harmonies that immediately made me think of Elliot Smith. Hey You is a lovely ballad with a silly name and is a perfect showcase for Davies’ soaring vocals, Treading Water does just that for the first few minutes then picks up the pace mightily and has a fantastic, energetic ending. Glorious is also as it’s name suggests - it’s sunshine on a cd! - and expresses a dream to ‘wake up in a better place’. Out of My Head should make Neil Finn feel vulnerable and Alia Nation is a well-intentioned if not a bit too earnest protest song about Australia’s treatment of refugees. Davies is accomplished enough to have the benefit of being able to move easily between lovely ballads and sunny harmony-laden pop, however the only drawback is the space between those two points which sometimes threatens to venture into M.O.R/Matchbox 20-ish territory. Comparisons to Neil Finn will be inevitable, seeing as Davies is such an uncanny sound-alike, but thankfully Davies songwriting and song construction is mature and complex enough to let this debut album stand on it’s own two feet. Definitely one to watch.

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Tracklisting

Full listing of ROD DAVIES releases