The latest graduate from Paul’s McCartneys Institute of Performing Arts in Liverpool to break into the charts is Newcastle born Dan Croll.
After breakthrough single ‘From Nowhere’ seemingly took over every indie dancefloor and made it onto every indie mixtape across the country on its release, there was high anticipation for his debut album, especially on the back of a support slot with London Grammar on their headline tour.
The album is a solid debut, full of indie pop melodies but in some cases leaves you a little confused as to what Dan Croll was actually trying to record for his album. His well known influences lie with the likes of Paul Simon and also African strings and orchestra’s of late 60’s physcedelia which come across in early album track ‘Thinkin Aboutchu’.
The album is opened with his well known hit ‘From Nowhere’, but from there the album is a bit wayward and a mix of everything, with Dan seemingly not knowing were his best music lies.
‘Compliment Your Soul’ is another African influenced track with added folk guitar, which brings a very intriguing mix and an excellent pop song, possibly a future single, with ‘Home’ the best track on the album; slow, meaningful and a great way to end the album.
The album is no classic, but a solid platform for the youngster to build on, after wowing crowds with his energetic live performances across festivals in 2013 and already supported massive acts such as Bombay Bicycle Club, Chvrches and Haim, Dan Croll will continue to bring the pop party in 2014 and bring sweetness to the summer.
Dan Croll hasn’t come ‘from nowhere’ with this album, but he is a young musician who isn’t going anywhere for a while yet, the UK has another pop star on their hands.
Listen to Dan Croll’s hit single ‘From Nowhere’ below: