Back to release his sophomore record, singer-songwriter Peter Walker has come back with a mixed bag of songs that whilst good individually, collectively isn’t anything to rave about.

Starting off with a very Strokes –esque sounding “What Do I Know?” the guitar drives the track along, and appears to be one of the strongest tracks of the album, with its thumping drums providing a fast and friendly way to move the track along. However, I can’t help but feel that the track would be more at home in the middle of “Room on Fire” – whilst a good song, nothing spectacularly different to anything else out there.

“39 Stars” introduces a nice laid back sound of summer, with Walker sounding distinctly similar to Olly from Turin Brakes, vulnerable and raw, a sound that appears to be repeated throughout the album. Slightly repetitive, the music provides the interest in this track, with the electric guitar providing some creativity throughout. “Flagship” has perhaps the catchiest chorus of “see it as a lesson learned, baby there must be some way to stay afloat”, and wouldn’t be out of place in a film with a lead character watching rain dribbling slowly down the windows.

The epic “Young Gravity” is the standout track of the album, reaching crescendo slowly, and then falling slowly back down before doing it all over again. Feeling distinctly melancholic, the prolonged music gives the song more a feeling of an album closer than a track 4, but never mind.

“Sleepin’ around” is the rawest sounding track of the album, with the refrain of “sleepin’ around, smoking all day, that’s what I heard him say”, and appears to simply be an ode to what Walker doesn’t want to end up being, and despises. Raw and with feeling, it ends up being a bit of an oddball track in comparison with the rest of the tracks on the album.

The rest of the album, to be honest, passes by without many interesting events it appears: “New Orleans” sounds quite chilled and not very vibrant as you might expect from a song entitled after the lively city. “On TV” does the required slow album closer, with a naked sounding acoustic guitar and lots of echo, and is quite a nice end to the album, though perhaps would have been better placed as the penultimate track before “Young Gravity”.

So, in summary “Young Gravity” is a strong album, all good tunes that are perfect for a summery day out in the car with windows down, however it’s not really anything that original or complex – just another singer/songwriter plying his trade.

Must listen tracks: What Do I Know, Young Gravity, Sleepin’ Around

You can listen to “What Do I Know”, from this album in our Music Player