Self-contained and slowly creeping into the dark thoughts of the subconscious, Callum Gentleman (real name Stembridge) takes his Bob Dylan-stylised writing and makes an exception in delivery as he slightly twists each song to hold a moment of optimism. It wouldn’t be wrong to be mildly confused by the direction of this self-titled EP, and this helps draw the listener to journey along as he explores the idiosyncrasies of the modern day, eager to see the arc in his story. Beresford Street is a good starter, the lyrical cynicism offset by the jaunty optimism of the musical backing. Final track Joseph bears a different tone to the rest. His saloon-echoed guitaring, with influences of Chris Isaak, themed in the theatrics of the tune and back-up singing from Alayna Powley, give the impression of a typical hero and damsel situation. Several other quality musicians pitched in, while Ryan Green recorded and mixed. Overall, Gentleman writes with a true sense of blues/folk noir and then takes that to the old country saloon bar to have a jam, saluting to the fact that life is hard. You can either moan about it, have a reminder of the dark soldiers from the night before – or combine both and write an EP out of it.