Lone Wolf - The Devil & I

Paul Marshall's debut album Vultures was one of 2007's better sleeping successes. It caught a nascent Ragged Words napping for one. Bit by bit, it pushed the Leedsman towards the top of the queue of those travelling the country with just an acoustic guitar for company. But as Marshall told Ragged Words last month, this existence came littered with preconceived notions, most notably being railroaded into living the limited life of the 'singer-songwriter'. Vultures also came coated with the haunting hallmarks of Nick Drake and while it ably ticked the relevant boxes, how many enduring careers have survived trying to consistently capture the kind of fragility Drake made all his own? For Marshall, come album number two, it was time for a change.

Enter Lone Wolf, the moniker he has chosen not as a re-branding exercise but to introduce a more ambitious sound. While the new name implies that this is still very much a solo venture - on record at least - the finger-picking of old is now joined by keys, strings and, on occasion, some rousing percussion. Begun solely by those keys and later joined by horns, opener 'This Is War' immediately draws a line in the sand from the Green Fly days. Next up however, it's 'Keep Your Eyes On The Road' that really sets Lone Wolf apart and demonstrates how broad the pallet has gotten. Backed by unquestionably the best video made this year, it takes some song to enjoy as much away from YouTube as on it but The Devil & I's first single has got just that kind of power. It's exquisitely layered and swells so magnificently that you'll NEED to know the exact second it peaks, the kind of 'Coltrane moment' on Miles Davis' Freddie Freeloader. Oh and here, it's 4 minutes and 18 seconds in when the guitars come crashing down in case you wondered.

Perhaps 'Keep Your Eyes On The Road' is a little too strong because while what follows is mostly very fine - in particular the slowly grooving 'Soldiars' and brooding 'Buried Beneath The Tiles' - The Devil & I is shy another standout track or two. A couple of the Vultures-like songs - with the almost loungey 'Dead River' the greatest culprit - too often pass this listener by. But then other quieter moments allow you to bask in Marshall's very original storytelling, like when he proposes on 'We Could Use Your Blood' that what flows through a loved-one's veins is so rich it could light up an entire hotel. There's a fine line on the gentler side of things for sure, but the grander moments more than prove The Devil & I a successful transition from Paul Marshall to Lone Wolf, and one that's only beginning.