Ed Harcourt - Strangers

Upon first listen, if you find yourself thinking: "I've heard these songs before," you're not alone. Ed Harcourt sings from the same songsheet as his contemporaries Rufus Wainwright and Josh Rouse. While Mr. Harcourt is not as consistently dramatic as Mr. Wainwright, nor as playful as Mr. Rouse, he does fall somewhere in between. Strangers opens with heavy eclectic distortion that slowly dissolves into a radio friendly pop tune, "The Storm is Coming." The first track is the most experimental Ed Harcourt chooses to showcase. "Born in the 70's" is the first single from Strangers, as it's the catchiest sing-a-long on the album. While "Love Not Let Me Down" and "Strangers" mimic the first two tracks, the rest of the songs seem to mimic each other. Most of Strangers is piano-driven ballads that come across as humble, hypnotic and warm monologues. While Strangers does not distinguish Ed Harcourt from his peers, it does make him sound more comfortable in his own shoes. Just like Badly Drawn Boy, Ed Harcourt balances the dramatic with the sincere primarily using soft guitar and piano. The result: An album well suited for a late night drive through the fog of London. [www.edharcourt.com]