ALI WHITTON is a young man born and bred in North Yorkshire and now resident in Leeds. ‘Kisses/Curses’ is his self-produced debut album - split into two parts to reflect a change of emphasis in his songs - and made available through his own label, AMW Music.
Ostensibly just voice and guitar, ALI augments some of his songs with viola, additional guitar and female harmonies. There are obvious parallels with Conor Oberst and Damien Rice and even a touch of Dylan. The self-production is sparse and basic and occasionally a little flat. No matter, because there is sufficient life in ALI and his songs to more than compensate for these limitations.
Unsurprisingly ‘Kisses’ deals with the more positive side of love and other such matters of the heart. Of the six tracks in this cycle ‘A Little Hope’ is the most ear-catching lyrically, the intimacy of its details the most affecting. In some ways this is an understatement as it is primarily ALI’s lyrics that grab your attention rather than his music. Poetic and romantic in equal measure his few lapses into naivety are forgivable when so many other couplets and phrases ring true beyond the melody. What is particularly pleasing about his words is the fact that they sound like the real thoughts and true emotions of a man of such comparative youthful age. ALI is able to move seamlessly between observations of his surroundings (typically male) to stark reflections on his feelings for others and towards himself (not typically male).
To someone like me who is a good few years older it’s refreshing – and once in a while even liberating – to hear lyrics that evoke old memories and raw emotions while still harbouring strong threads of universality with which to relate to the here and now. It’s a rare talent to be able to leave yourself exposed emotionally to such a high degree and not appear self-pitying, self-indulgent or just selfish. And it’s a stony heart indeed that cannot be moved by any grain of reflected truth within these confessionals.
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Supposedly more bitter and regretful in tone ‘Curses’ nonetheless maintains the high lyrical standard. This cycle also contains the most ‘band’ sounding song with ‘Heavy’ and perhaps points at musical directions where ALI can take his music beyond the introspective setting of just acoustic guitar and viola. At this stage his arrangements sometimes sound restricted but again there is sufficient evidence that the potential is there to give his poetry a more dynamic backdrop. I’m not calling for all out orchestration just more variation against which to set his lyrics and more imagination in the instrumentation to reflect the vibrancy of his imagery. His words have more than enough visual and emotional strength to penetrate far more diverse musical settings.
Minor quibbles and a critical reaction governed more by the comparative sounds of acts who are far more established in their musical agendas and in this listener’s ears. ALI WHITTON is a raw talent with a real gift for the lyrical side of song-writing. His debut contains enough evidence that his music can be even better, both with time and a more experienced hand at the production controls.
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