TRACK: The Quest

WHO: Bryn Christopher – the Midlands’ answer to Otis Redding. Not that Otis ever had the chance to ask such a question.

WHAT: All aboard the Soul Train!

THE HYPE: ‘The Quest is quite brilliant and that is all there is to it.’ Popjustice

WE SAY: Sometimes it doesn’t pay to be too clever. There I was, a bit short on time and trying to get ahead of myself, shorthanding Bryn Christopher into some Winehouse torchiness + Duffy Madame Toussauds’ soul equation. I was going to chuck out a few sentences along those lines, then clock off to kick a pile of leaves or whatever us hacks do for fun. But I thought it probably wise to actually give Mr Christopher a proper listen first.

Which was a good thing as he’s alright this Bryn bloke. While Amy’s busy off doing her prep work for her Masters degree in Rock Tragedies, it’s nice to be reminded of what it was that brought her to our attention in the first place. Forged in one of those brassy retro soul foundries that Mark Ronson has patented, The Quest offers a remodelled vision of smoke-filled Harlem joints, of sweat dripping from a performer’s brow and with it a reminder that being a soul singer is not simply about having a cracking voice, that a sense of the artist putting a part of themselves into it is required, if not mandatory. The Otis comparisons appears to stem from the style of his delivery, that any second his boots could come up through his mouth or a vein pop in his head, such is the extent that his back is put into it.

There’s enough in reserve too. Tucked up his album sleeve is some Edwin Starr-styled belters, plus a cheeky cover of Portishead’s Sour Times which manages to take a rain-soaked classic and turn it into a belting strings-attached knees-up round James Bond’s place.

IF I ONLY KNOW ONE THING: Bryn’s clocking up the kudos at a rate of knots – Mary J Blige has invited him on tour and Will Smith’s manager is already trying to get him into Hollywood.

WHERE CAN I GET IT: The Quest is released on Polydor on June 9th.

FIND MORE: www.myspace.com/brynchristopher

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