Album Review: Nick Mulvey – First Mind
2 min read
Nick Mulvey is an English singer-songwriter who was originally a member of the jazz collective, Portico Quartet. However, he decided he needed a change and put himself through guitar school in Cuba. Since then Mulvey’s been one busy artist, working on his debut album, doing gigs worldwide and throwing himself into learning about all types of music. This has led to Mulvey developing a unique sound and a sense of worldliness, which he hopes shines through in his debut album First Mind.
Mulvey pours heart and soul into every song on the album, and is an incredibly talented guitarist. Title track First Mind opens the album, and slowly builds the complex percussive layers of the song. First Mind is mesmerising and extremely relaxing to listen too.
Poignant album songs include Fever To The Form, Meet Me There and I Don’t Want To Go Home. Fever To The Form has a fantastic underlying guitar riff, with a climatic chorus and sweet acapella acoustic guitar ending. Meet Me There channels a pop/folk sound, whilst I Don’t Want To Go Home delivers a heart-wrenching ballad.
The beauty of this album is that none of the songs are over produced; the balance between instumentals, melody and vocals is spot on in every track. Juramidam and The Trellis showcase an Eastern inflected guitar technique. Juramidam features a great bassline, a bit of a groove and gives off a very cool vibe. The dark, spanish inspired April has an eerie feel and is captivating in every way.
Cucurucu is the single that has gained the most attention from the album so far. Its beautiful lyrics are an interpretation of DH Lawrence’s poem, Piano, which is wrapped within a folk groove. Alisa Craig showcases incredible finger picking guitar work, and has a trance-like feel. This hypnotic track has haunting backing vocals and is led by its deep bassline. Nitrous is about a daydreamer selling laughing gas, and has an instant groove to it. Another song that oozes coolness, the strings add are a great addition to this classic chug track.
First Mind is an incredible debut album from Mulvey. Each track has its own unique feel, and Mulvey’s sound is one that will leave you mesmerised. Every song is captivating and the vocals are impeccable. First Mind is sure to earn this talented singer-songwriter legions of new fans.
