Chris Tye releases his new album, Stronger in Numbers, This 11 song (43 min, 45 sec) collection represents a diverse range of styles - from the slow-burning opener, 'Feature Fight', and the subtle title track, to the Beatlesque 'If There Is Love', and hopeful closer, 'More Than A Dream'.

A fan of the classic singer songwriter style of artists like John Martyn, Dylan, Neil Young as well as the big sound created by bands like The Shins, The Cure, The National, The Verve, Tye attempts to fuse those two genres without diluting either one too much. And, rather impressively, he succeeds in doing just this. If you didn't know the year of production you'd have a hard time placing when these songs were recorded. There's a timeless quality to the tracks that could just have easily seen them being popular in the '70s, '80s, '90s to the present day. This also means that they should age incredibly well.

There are so many tracks here to hold your attention, but I think on balance I have to highlight the catchy 'The Half Way Up'; the memorable 'Happy When You're Sad'; and 'If There is Love'.

8

Nick Smithson