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Reviewed by Chris Dent

Monty Bevins: Come Back Home EP

Reviewed by Chris Dent

Monty Bevins: Come Back Home EP

Monty Bevins is a storyteller with a lot of pop sensibilities, his acoustic guitar riffs are simple and the melodies flow over each other in ways that are easy to take in. His EP starts with a very familiar guitar sound that leads into the title track, just guitar, voice and hand drum. As things progress it gets a little darker and a little more raucous though nothing overboard, the songs running neatly into one another. Third track, Matters Of Magic, has a strong hint of Tiki Taane‘s Always On My Mind hit in its staccato strummed rhythm. His voice is mostly soft but with a touch of gravel in it, so he can transfer from mild to something grittier with ease – shown mostly on upbeat closer Broken Wing, reminiscent of Nirvana ‘Unplugged’, albeit without any of the lush instrumentation. Things here are kept very simple; snare, kick, guitars, eggs, baking tray… In an era when many artists stride towards creating the next pop tune there is an appealing effortlessness, due to his poise, phrasing, song construction and production. Bevis and his recording engineer/producer Michael Morris have created five songs that are dynamic enough to keep listeners entertained and engaged throughout.