NICK MULVEY

New Mythology (Fiction) 

When his debut album First Mind was nominated for the Mercury, Nick Mulvey’s hypnotic guitar grooves were considered the British answer to Jose Gonzalez, with a twist of John Martyn. Its successor Wake Up Now was more uplifting, with Afro-Cuban influences coming to the fore. On this third album, New Mythology, Nick Mulvey gets further under the skin, coming across as the thinking person’s George Ezra (no bad thing) or a more energetic Mac DeMarco: deceptively simple pocket mantras, catchy choruses, ukulele and rhythmic guitar elevated by an adventurous sonic approach.

Religious, familial and environmental phraseology abound on New Mythology – from the intimate opener A Prayer Of My Own, its untutored vocals suggesting a one-take recording, to the Blue Nile-ish Mecca and the atmospheric Begin Again. There’s a touch of Saudade to the funky Brother To You, while the Cubano-styled number The Gift is cool in the heat as a mojito in Havana. A Malian guitar line snakes through Another Way To Be, and Causes is a sweet summer fling that really scratches an itch.

words CHRIS SEAL