Bidwell also produces the album and there’s nothing fancy here, no electronic thrills or spills to add (or detract) from the honest simplicity of Barrell’s songs. There’s no more in each song than it really needs to make it: the odd harmonica, spare slide guitar and drums or a subtle keys line.

‘Further Apart’ is a Bob Dylan meets The Kinks gem that kicks off The Gin Club and a fine fair collection of tunes from the Brighton kid it is too, and in the best tradition of pop/folk/blues writing that made The Who, The Animals through to Gomez and The Coral. Barrell has really got a Ray Davies thing going on with his lyrics and vocal lines - wry observations and stripped-down folk-pop tunes.

The dirty, bluesy ‘Ticket’, with thin, hungover vocals and a slide guitar echoing the disillusionment of Barrell’s lonesome lyrics, follows on with the country blues of ‘Pocket Full of Stones’ and the comforting bleakness of ‘Cry Your Eyes Out’, which is maybe the true heart of The Gin Club

The Gin Club is released on Folklaw on 26 February.

Links:
www.myspace.com.Folklawrecords
www.myspace.com/theginclub