littlelostdavid / Little Lost David – EP

Look, I rave about some Brilliant New Music or other all the time. I know it, and you know it, and I know that you know it. We’re both fully aware that in a year or two, what I recommend to you now might mean little or nothing to me. That’s the way it goes. A magpie eye, an ear for a hook and an insatiable curiosity to hear what comes next.
Call it lust for life, attention deficit disorder, a philanthropic championing of the new or a pathological inability to commit – call it what you will. But this… this is something else entirely. No one has made my jaw drop quite so hard on a first listening – in such an immediate, breath-bated, awestruck way – for a long, long time.
The five tracks on littlelostdavid’s EP exhibit a level of passion, drama and poignancy that is superficially common in popular music, yet often never quite believable. Not so in this case. This recalls Tim Buckley – not a comparison I’d ever make lightly – and brings to mind the emotional depth and sheer, heart-stopping power of Lorca.
At the sweeter end of his range, David J Roch is delicate and understated. Chris Isaak could have followed up Wicked Game with Hour Of Need and it would surely have been a hit. Conversely, the bruised and brutal theatrics of Dum Spiro Spero sound like an anglophone version of fádo and echo Scott Walker’s seductive, reclusive darkness.
There’s so much more, I don’t even know where to start. The throbbing, pandemonic crash of organs. Gorgeous female backing vocals and semi-choral accompaniments. The heart-stopping pause in “when you take a razor… to your arm”. Arrangements that sound simultaneously familiar and fresh. Alan Smyth’s warm, crisp production.
Reservations? Just my usual obsession with authenticity and thus my problem with the occasional American twang in his accent. At other times – notably as the emotion rises – his Sheffield origins become more obvious. That’s as it should be. A little less Grand Ole Opry and a little more Grand Old Duke Of York, please.
Oh, and the name: a complete red herring. When I bought this EP from him at last week’s gig we stood eye to eye, which makes him Very Tall Indeed. And if he’s in any way “lost”, it’s a kind of lost that involves a considerable strength of purpose. An Englishman who can roll his r’s in such an unselfconscious way is a rare Englishman indeed.
This is an astonishing, astounding debut. Do yourself a favour and take a listen, especially to the two tracks I’ve mentioned above. If you like it, buy it as quickly as possible; it’s a limited edition (of 400, according to one website) and I can’t imagine it hanging around for long. If you can get along to one of his live shows to buy it there, so much the better.
7″ version:

CD version:

Update: you might also be interested in the interview that I did with David & Chris a few months after I wrote this review.