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Stylistically, mister Lister (apologies, but I simply cannot resist such an obviously satisfying rhyme) is perhaps most similar to The Black Keys, if I was forced to make a direct comparison to a current band or artist going these days. Quite fitting really, that said duo will be headlining Latitude festival in Isaac's very own Suffolk later this year. But it's not just those guys who are on top of their game. With Chambers, Isaac launches into opener Drop The Ball with a self-assured display of confidence despite the title's suggestions of the opposite. "I'm going great guns", he proclaims - and in all honesty, it's pretty difficult to disagree. I haven't heard a blues/rock voice so raw in a long time. Quite frankly, it's refreshing to hear a singer-songwriter/guitarist with an ounce of individuality these days, because I must admit that I often find myself sighing in reluctant dread when I see a (brave) man plonk himself on stage with just his guitar as foil. I can't be the only one who gets bored easily by this particular thing, which makes me all the more glad to openly admit that there's a lot to be enjoyed on this record. Take your pick of moments, but the riff on Expendable Love must be mentioned as but one example. What makes it even better for us as the listener is that it's so eminently obvious that Lister's enjoying himself; revelling in his passion and craft. What's not so good, then? Admittedly, his voice is perhaps not especially suited to the album's mellower moments, but this is certainly outweighed by just how suited it is to the slightly more raucous and upbeat sections - which happen to constitute the majority of its make-up. Whisking myself back to the mention of The Black Keys as influences, there's more to be found - though certainly never risking plagiarism. It's fair to say I'm speculating, but there's a hint of Gallagher to the vocals, but at certain times I definitely found myself thinking of (bizarrely) Roger Daltrey and even Matt Bellamy. Lyrically, I'd probably highlight the Arctic Monkeys as a fairly influential factor, but it really cannot be stressed enough that this album is entirely original. Also, everything you hear is written and performed by the man himself. Pretty neat.
It'd be foolish for me to sit here and preach about Chambers being album of the year, or anything like that. Ultimately we're talking about an effort from an up and coming artist, rather than a seasoned veteran. However, that's not to take anything away from the record. It's easy to listen to, clearly took great care to create, and maintains a raw feel without simply being recorded roughly. Ignore the sporadic bum notes, a couple of less inspiring tracks and the fact he's from Lowestoft (casual racism is so professional...), this is a really solid little record that'll unfortunately probably never receive the recognition or volume of listens that it deserves. It's probably worth bearing in mind that I gave Arctic Monkeys' world beating AM a 6.5 out of 10 all the way back when I reviewed it. Do the right thing and give it a go: CLICK ME
7/10
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