‘In Your Hands’ out August 10th

Charlie Winston is one of those artists who likes to do things the other way round. It’s come to light that he’s made a big impact on the French music market, and had his album certified Platinum, all before releasing a thing in the U.K. I suppose cynics might question why he hasn’t made an impression on the British music fans before, but whatever the reasons he is now back, and ready to release in the U.K.

Charlie is signed to Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records label, and it’s said that the singer has been a huge influence on Charlies work. His first single release in the U.K is ‘In You Hands’, which immediately puts me in mind of ‘He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands’, which I used to sing all the time in Primary School. This hints at a religious undertone, and a slight Gospel leaning hidden within the message laden lyrics. The song begins with Charlie humming like an old school blues/soul star, and it’s these genres for me, which are what’s hinted at most strongly within the music. The string arrangements are quirky, and I can even hear the good old rock and roll tambourine in there. It’s quite lively and different, but it would be good to hear some backing vocals or something to give it more of an impact.

There’s an album and radio edit of this song on the demo, along with a b-side called Generation Spent, where Charlie explores his folk side. To me, the vocal arrangement was a little puzzling on this one; it seemed to veer between an almost-rap, gospel, and folk in between. The lyrics are quite interesting though, and in some ways it has more of an impact on record than ‘In Your Hands’ does. Instincts are telling me that Charlie Winston might just come into his own when performing live, and that maybe he just hasn’t translated all the live magic onto C.D yet.

I can see why the Europeans have embraced this style of music, though at the moment I’m finding the person infinitely fascinating; but the music not quite so. A spark of interest, is a spark of interest however, so I look forward to hearing more about him.

‘In Your Hands’ limited edition vinyl and download released August 12th. Album ‘Hobo’ out in September. Visit the official website www.charliewinston.com for more information.