On occasion, I like to peruse British music publications just to see what striking their fancy on the other side of the pond. Recently, a new 24-year old singer-songwriter named Tom Vek has been all the rage. The reviews of his debut album, We Have Sound, have been nothing but praise, so I must say I was quite excited when I got my hands on this album. After listening to it repeatedly, I have to say that I must be missing something because this album is downright awful.

There is hardly a single solitary aspect of this album that I cared for. I mean, the arrangements are elementary at best, the production is so weak it sounds like it was recorded in a garbage can (but not in that cool Guided By Voices/The Strokes garbage can way) and Vek's voice is completely grating to the senses. Not to mention that his lyrics are pure crap. And those choruses! Basically take every song title listed here ("C-C You Set The Fire In Me" or "A Little Word In Your Ear" for example) and just repeat them over and over, and that pretty much makes up a chorus in Tom Vek's world. That's not a chorus damn it! That's just laziness and pure un-originality. I could continue to bash this album for paragraphs on end, but honestly what's the point? Let's just say this isn't the first time I've strongly disagreed about artists British mags have slobbered over (recent bands like The Bravery quickly come to mind) and most likely it won't be the last. But if you're someone who's hankering for British singer-songwriters, please do yourself a huge favor and pick up Richard Hawley's recently released and hardly noticed Coles Corner instead of this peace of junk. In the long run, I promise you'll be glad you did.