The transition from performing acoustic covers in your bedroom on YouTube to recording original songs in a recording studio and playing in front of a live audience isn't necessarily easy or guaranteed to work, but in this case it absolutely does. Lewis Watson's career initially began when he uploaded covers to YouTube, covering songs by Bombay Bicycle Club and City and Colour. These covers were well received and helped Watson to build up a loyal fanbase, before he eventually started uploading original material. Almost five months after releasing his second EP, Another Four Sad Songs, the 20 year-old English singer-songwriter wasted little time in releasing his third EP The Wild.
The Wild sounds like tentative but beautifully crafted first steps. The sweet sentiments in the songs are hard to ignore. The outstanding "Into The Wild" sees Watson singing "We're perfectly intertwined/And if it's quite alright/You could be my way of life." This track easily captures the urgency of the first flourishes of a relationship without sounding cliched or tired. "It Could Be Better" is a more ambitious and slick sounding track. Double tracking, backing vocals: it's all there. The song sounds radio-ready and displays an undeniable talent for crafting catchy, relatable songs.
Watson's vocals are at their purest on "Little Darling," mixing seamlessly with the strums of the acoustic guitar. At other moments his voice softens and hits high notes where his vocals almost disappear into a whisper, adding to the already intimate sound of the song.
The final track of the EP is, in a nod to his early days of YouTube covers, a cover of SBTRKT's "Hold On." The thud of the drums combined with Watson's voice makes for a perfect match. This cover also proves that Watson already has his own distinctive sound, his cover of "Hold On" sounds almost unrecognisable from the original.
Watson's music could sit comfortably alongside the likes of Ed Sheeran, the similarities are undeniably there. For an EP it captures a selection of songs that show an impressive talent for songwriting. While "Into The Wild" is a song that builds and layers before launching into a beautiful chorus, Watson's other tracks, while endearing, seem to be missing that midpoint. It seems that could almost be intentional, that the The Wild EP serves as a taster for things to come. This could merely be an introduction without giving too much away. This EP undoubtedly instills confidence in Watson's future output, and is a glowing example of why people should listen to Lewis Watson's music in the first place.
