First Mind
Fiction Records/Caroline
Former Portico Quartet member, Nick Mulvey, has spent the past few years forging a role as a solo performer with a more modern approach than the somewhat more staid territory of the jazz coming from his former outfit. Mulvey cut his musical teeth in Cuba at the age of 19 where he studied music and set while jamming with other students and finding a taste for rum. After a couple of EPs, First Mind is the debut from the multi-instrumentalist from the UK.
The well travelled musician is served well with guitar in hand with his flurry of picked notes and irregular timings that show the Eastern influence in Mulvey’s tunes. The title track plays like a modern folk songs that borders on the territory of Jose Gonzales without the beguiling accent. Inspired by the DH Lawrence poem, Cucurucu, Mulvey begins in spoken word form before instruments join in and the song becomes as much about creating a groove as it is a story.
Mulvey has made an effortless transition from quirky jazz chap to the modern troubadour. His unique strumming and smooth voice are sure to get heads turning, with First Mind being a more than solid debut.
CHRIS HAVERCROFT
