David Kitt Square One

I remember quite clearly a friend of mine playing an album called The Big Romance a few years ago and repeatedly telling me to get it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I never got round to it and the name David Kitt skipped from my mind. Until now.

Since we last met, Mr Kitt has found himself a Mrs Kitt. Obvious enough from the very start, a little ditty called I'm In Love With A Girl which then flows into Me & My Love, an adaptation of the Freddie Scott soul classic You Got What I Need. It's a beautiful piece of laid back pop, the horn section giving it the air of the sound Otis was heading towards with The Dock Of The Bay.

The use of Memphis Horns style backing is peppered throughout Square One, often filling out the sparse arrangements to great effect. Tonic and Long Long Stares show off Kitt's ear for a classy tune as well as a big romantic streak - "Kiss me I'm on your side" he woes on the latter. As the album advances, it soon becomes clear that Kitt belongs in a long line of songwriters such as Cat Stevens and James Taylor with the knack of writing effective songs that pluck the heartstrings and prick the ears. Dance With You, for one, is just damn pretty and proud of it.

Square One is not an album for everybody: It contains none of the pop-art posturing or instant catchy singles of a Franz Ferdinand or Strokes and some may find the fact it's essentially one long love letter a bit grating. How you take this pretty much depends on your current state of mind.

Words are often not enough to describe music, especially when it's about moods. So if Richard Hawley makes albums to be played late at night with a drink in hand musing on matters, David Kitt is the soundtrack to the morning after, lying in bed letting the sun sneak in through the curtains along with the optimism.