Darby Carroll has worked the coalface of songwriting in this country, with no visible rewards, bar the satisfaction of knowing that if you keep writing good material, something has eventually got to give. On the evidence of this, his debut album, he may well have a point, for it’s as good a collection of material as I’ve heard in recent times, inviting comparison with better known names like Paul Brady and – from a vocal perspective – Liam Reilly.
His is a strong presence, which comfortably inhabits the material, driven by lovely slide guitar and keyboard work throughout, particularly on songs like ‘Mercy’ and the album’s title track. The feel of the project brings the work of people such as Clive Gregson to mind, and strongly suggests that if someone does a bit of graft on his behalf that these songs could well find a sympathetic publisher in the short to middle distance with a view to getting lots of covers. Very impressive indeed.