Listen: Jack Garratt - "Water"

28 April 2014, 13:00 | Written by Rebecca Jayne Higgins

(Tracks)

(Jack Garratt)

Uploaded to soundcloud, and having subsequently surpassed an impressive 100,000 listens in just over two short months, Jack Garratt’s debut “I Couldn’t Want You Anyway” acted as a sophisticated yet simplistically beautiful introduction to an unconventional sound that managed to avoid being boxed in to any specific genre. After a three-day stint supporting label-mate and fellow eclectic genre-avoider Dan Croll at the end of March, Garratt is gearing up for his next release, the ambiguously titled “Water”.

Showcasing a soulful, tender vocal style that is on occasion reminiscent of early Bon Iver, Garratt’s voice reaches intense and impassioned heights throughout whilst still effortlessly complementing a sporadic and infectiously off-balance, RnB-influenced composition. Also recalling elements of electronica, soul and alternative, guitar laden pop, musically, “Water” manages to both be in debt to a range of styles without actually slotting neatly into any of them.

With an unapologetic, fearless approach to blurring the ever-fading lines between where popular genres are apparently supposed to begin and end, “Water” is a courageous and self-assured slice of musical proof that refusing to be confined to any specific box more often than not makes things a hell of a lot more enjoyable.