(Independent)

The kid’s got promise

The Trouble With Templeton is the alias of folk singer-songwriter Thomas Calder, and his debut release Bleeders shows a passionate soul given to penning songs about honest feelings and genuine emotion on an acoustic guitar. Personally, I’ve always hated songs on such topics. Feelings are drab, everybody has them – I’d rather listen to songs about people drinking beers and barfing on amplifiers. There’s no denying Calder has an impressive voice though, shown well on Someday Soon and title-track Bleeders. You could easily confuse him with the likes Damien Rice or Angus Stone, but herein lies the problem. These particular songs make it difficult to differentiate Calder from the hundreds other singer-songwriters doing similar things. Calder proves more interesting when he takes his time. On delicate tracks like Old Habits, Little Quirk and Home, he makes me forget my usual dislike of the genre and I’m suddenly reminded instead of the underrated Josh Rouse. Not quite brilliant, but not terrible, Bleeders is a solid debut from this singer-songwriter.

DARRAGH MURRAY

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