Vollebekk is a Montreal singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who is/was a fan of Nick Drake. We’d also guess he’s a big fan of David Gray, whose White Ladder this sounds very much like. For older readers, Gray was a singer-songwriter whose fourth album White Ladder was massive, partly helped by a memorable televised performance at Glastonbury, we seem to remember. It’s still the biggest-selling album in Ireland.

Like Gray, Vollebekk plays downbeat songs that verge on beautiful, with a contemplative feel. The instrumentation is clean and simple, with piano chords, acoustic guitar and, in this case, some electric. Like Gray, the drums are often played with brushes. He’s got a similar voice to Gray, pleasantly husky though perhaps a little less nasal.

It’s a good album and we’ve been playing it a lot. Try the very David Gray-ish Elegy, which is excellent.

Don’t Leif in too long. Buy here: