REVIEW: GUS HARROWER – MYSTERY EP

8/10

REVIEW: GUS HARROWER - MYSTERY EP

Mystery is the debut e.p. by Edinburgh based singer/songwriter Gus Harrower who, despite only being the tender age of 16 years old, has produced an e.p. that displays fine songwriting abilities and an ear for melody that is really rather wonderful. I should declare something of an interest here as Gus’ uncle John is a lifelong friend of mine and the two of us have a band that first started before Gus was even born which makes me feel incredibly old. By releasing this e.p. Gus has already achieved much more than we ever did and, if Mystery is anything to go by, there are exciting things to come from this obvious talent.

As all good e.p’s should be, the e.p. contains four tracks. Lead track Mystery is the standout; melodic acoustic guitar led pop that is underpinned by piano and keyboards. The key element is Gus’ vocals and harmonies both of which are hugely impressive. I’m not as bang up to date on the modern pop world as I perhaps ought to be beyond a fully understandable love of Taylor Swift’s 1989 but I hear the likes of Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago in this track and others on the e.p. and that’s no bad thing. Go But Don’t Quite Leave is a pacier track that has all the qualities of Mystery present throughout, whereas Try is just Gus and a piano and again it displays truly gifted songwriting. We end on Deeper Under, a slower, more mournful track that rounds the e.p. off nicely.

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What really strikes you about this release is the quality of the songwriting and performance throughout and, for a debut release, it’s an impressive thing indeed. I’d recommend you go and check it out.

Xsnoize Author
David McElroy 91 Articles
Fav Band: Depeche Mode Fav album: Violator - Depeche Mode

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