SMALL TOWN EYES is the debut album from Justin Sandercoe, a man who made his name through You Tube by creating free guitar video sessions that attracted up to 50 million hits. He also taught artists such as Katie Melua and Kathy Dennis, and even toured with Katie on her European dates, quite an impressive resume then. So, in releasing a self penned album of 14 tracks, Justin has decided to turn the spotlight on himself, and become the main attraction, but can he pull it off?

The answer is: not quite. As you would expect, his guitar work is flawless and enchanting at times, but that's about the main attraction. I was a little disappointed with the singing and the variety of  songs on offer. Some are great, others are a little weak and require beefing up with steroids. The overall style is very much acoustic/folk, and no song on the album ever ventures far from that path or offers something radically different. Therefore, if you like one song you will probably like all of them, so it's worth listening to a few if you follow Justin on You Tube and are a fan. Also if you like folk music or acoustic music, artists such as Dylan, Nick Drake, Neil Young or Ryan Adams at times, then SMALL TOWN EYES will entertain.

Opening track FOREVERGREEN begins with a shimmering guitar riff that sounds like the wind rustling through autumn leaves and speaks of finding spirituality through nature, of being helpless in the face of ones fears, and the desolation that modern society brings. It's a lovely piece of songwriting; the drums rumble along gently in the background, the bass quietly keeps the pace, but the vocals are a little flat, and it almost sets the tone for the rest of the album : nice guitar, not so keen on the voice. On songs such as LOVE AND LEVITY, a killer voice could have helped raise a  decent tune into something more; as it is, the song bubbles away nicely, but just fails to take off.

What you cannot take away from this album though, is the inventiveness of guitar playing and the general uplifting, warm vibe created; there are plenty of mellow guitar moments. Highlights include
FROM KATIE'S WINDOW, a lovely finger picked ditty that reminded me of Led Zeppelin when Jimmy Page had discovered Lord of the Rings and Valium at the same time. PAGE 99 again features gorgeous finger pinking guitar work, ' If only you could say those words, and fill my heart with nouns and verbs', and some clever lyrics. INTO THE BLUE starts with more acoustic mellowness,  but gathers pace and morphs into a rousing pop song by the end. PITY THE ROSE also gently meanders until the chorus, when things break out a bit, Justin cuts loose with energetic singing and strumming and lets rip a glistening guitar solo to round things off in the style of Neil Young.

Other high points include IMPERFECT, a track that sees Justin angry and agitated about  contemporary society and the digital age, 'Strip away personality and wash off the mark that was unique, digital makes the perfect art, but zeros and ones don't break my heart.' This song actually really suits his voice and the lyrics are intelligent and honest. There's also some atmospheric harmonica towards the end, I could imagine enjoying this song crouched round a camp fire with some friends. I KNOW is a catchy tune helped along by an energetic, shuffling drum beat, and the addition of an accordion gives it a folksy polish. FALLING NEXT TO YOU starts with guitar, drums, harmonica and reveals itself in time to be a hummable pop number with a cracking chorus, Ryan Adams would have been pleased to have written this.

Songs I didn't enjoy so much were CUTTING OUT, I TURN TO TEL HER, and WASTE THIS. I found them a touch weak and like added extras rather than the main filling. However, they still fit the general ambient, relaxed mood, WASTE THIS in particular has some spacy, warped guitar effects in the background that lowered my blood pressure considerably.

All in all this is a pleasant, relaxing collection of songs performed by a technically gifted guitar player who can write some decent tunes too. If you like his voice then you will definitely like the songs and it's hard not to be charmed by the witty lyrics and honest sentiment. I didn't really get the sense that SMALL TOWN EYES was a coherent album, more a collection of songs that have been put together, but there's enough in here to please the casual listener. The general sentiment is one man with a guitar just saying what he thinks; feeling helpless in the face of comercialisation and the onslaught of technology, and coming to terms with friendships, relationships, himself even. So if you're a fan of Justin on You Tube then I'm sure you will enjoy this, if not, give him a listen, he has some good points to make, and some good tunes.