Album review: Benjamin Francis Leftwich: Last smoke before the snowstorm

BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWICH: LAST SMOKE BEFORE THE SNOWSTORMDIRTY HIT, £11.99***

Twenty-one is a good age to try to force your way into the crowded singer-songwriter market, particularly if you're already deserving of serious comparison to the likes of Damien Rice and Jos Gonzlez. Sadly there are also heavy hints of Chris Martin at his most mawkish on this debut by York's Benjamin Francis Leftwich, with Pictures and Butterfly Culture proving to be two main offenders. A nice melody is preferable for a voice as pleasantly feather-light as his to float across, and these are also in evidence: the rhythmic amble of 1904, the reservedly romantic Don't Go Slow and the wintery Bottle Baby. Hopefully Leftwich will follow these examples away from his more mundane tendencies in future.