Never Joy

Hot on the heels of his much-blogged-about EP Trawl, Ed Tullett’s debut album, Never Joy, shows off the Brighton, England–based tunesmith’s memorable and moving songs. He inflects like a young Morten Harket in the opening “Silver Dive,” where his lilting falsettos are bolstered by a lower-octave vocal take and a banjo's warm, rustic tones. In the following “Teeth,” Tullett takes a minimal approach, singing in his high register over spare accompaniment for the song's first half before letting guitar and subtle rhythms seep in toward the middle to flesh out the arrangement. Since he sings in his lower tenor until the song's end, “Ribboned Blood” almost sounds like a track by a different singer/songwriter, save for the telltale banjo. “Mezzanine” boasts intricate guitar picking that recalls '70s John Martyn recordings, but it’s Tullett’s sublime melodies that work their way into your brain by the second chorus. There are moments here and throughout Never Joy when Tullett’s self-sung harmonies sound similar to those from Kings of Convenience.