I must confess, I’d never heard Stylusboy before putting on this EP. I did have a look at his website, just to see if I could get an idea of what to expect and words like “lo-fi alternative folk” and “melodic acoustic pop” certainly didn’t put me off exploring further. Stylusboy is in fact Coventry born Steve Jones, here helped on vocals by close friend Rachel Grisedale. Whole Picture represents his third release, each with a definite DIY feel and all self-produced and recorded.

The EP opens with the title track ‘Whole Picture‘ and immediately you’re struck by the wholly positive energy the high-tempo brings. The drums skip along nicely, alongside a great acoustic guitar. Supporting the whole sound is a really good bass guitar. Vocally it’s pretty special too where Jones’ voice is instantly likable and with the addition of Rachel Grisedale’s accompanying vocals, the sound takes on a warm, rich feel. It’s a really impressive, upbeat and positive opening.

‘Beyond the Flags’ keeps the good feeling going. Opening like an alternate lo-fi take on Elvis Costello’s ‘Oliver’s Army’, the vocal is again excellent and it’s hard not to warm to Jones’ voice immediately. Again, the sound takes on a new dimension with Grisedale’s contribution, at times reminiscent of The Jayhawks, which is certainly not a bad thing.

It’s not all high-tempo though, ‘Left To Hide’ slows things down, stripping back the music a little too. The guitar work is again very easy on the ear, while the rhythm section is pretty uncomplicated, as demanded by the slower nature of the track. A dash of strings and the beautiful voice of Grisedale adds some depth and warmth to the song.

‘Something Worth Keeping’ keeps things a bit simpler again. The drums sound really good, with brushes used rather than traditional drumsticks if my ears don’t deceive me (which they often do). The acoustic and bass guitars are again pretty stripped back and simple, maintaining the steady tempo of the song, and it comes as no surprise really when the vocals on the chorus sound fantastic.

Those with keen eyes will be seeing a pattern here. The tempo picks up again with ‘Gunfight At The OK Corral’. Percussion adds a touch of sparkle to this song whilst a stirring guitar and bass sweep the song along on an upbeat wave. Try not tapping your foot along with this one. I dare you.

Closing the EP is ‘Dave’s Song’, which has a more traditional indie-folk feel to it. The song deals with the loss of a friend, but the way in which Jones gets this across is really quite special. Rather than dwell on the sadness and pain of such a tragedy, the focus is on moving forward and dealing with the pain and grief, and also the belief that his friend may be at the beginning of another journey. “This is not the end/It’s just the start from a different place,” is a very touching end to the EP and shows Jones as an artist that can convey great emotion in his work. The guitar and vocal are pretty simple, allowing the emotion and lyrics to come to the fore in a  fantastic and fitting tribute to his friend.

I may not have known much about Stylusboy beforehand, but I’ll be making sure I’m keeping up to date from now on. This was a really good EP, with nice variety in it’s pacing and songwriting. Vocally it was great and I look forward to hearing more from Steve Jones and friends in the future.

Steve Mcgillivray

Purchase Stylusboy- ‘Whole Picture’ here.