Eaves

 You may have heard me mention him a couple of times if you are unlucky enough to follow my Twitter feed. Real name Joe Lyons, but took his stage name from the Thomas Hardy book, Three Strangers. He originally called himself "Injun Joe" from the Mark Twain book 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer', but the name is a derogatory term for Red Indian, so he dropped it.

He told me this as we stood outside Rough Trade West on Wednesday following his in-store set, aided by Stephanie Fraser. A very last minute thing, he only announced it on his social media pages the night before. This was perfect timing for me. I had been notified that my pre-ordered copy of his debut record "What Green Feels Like" hadn't been dispatched due to the stock not arriving at Record Store. Not for the first time I'd been let down by them.

So a trip into London Town was on the cards, and a nice stroll down the Portobello Road to Talbot Road.

It was my first visit to Rough Trade West, and first impressions was that it's much smaller than it's sister store and resembles a small second hand shop.

Appearing through the front door, fresh from the pub, he started with "As Old as the Grave" a haunting take on
the full band version on the record but more like the first time
I heard the song on a video of a German session.
With just him on acoustic guitar and the backing vocals, it gave it an isolated, bare sound that does justice to the lyrics about alcoholism and the effects of that on a family. Very stark and affective. He continued with "Drawing Demons" a non-album track yet to see an official release, but can be heard at a session he did for Bruxelles Ma Belle. He followed this with "Alone in my mind" and new single "Pylons".

 It's fair to say I've been quite excited about the impending release of this record, and it doesn't disappoint. The three track's from the EP released last year appear but beefed up, benefiting from a re-record and added instrumentation. Previously unheard tracks like 'Dove in the Mouth', 'Hom-a-Gum' and 'Purge' sit perfectly with the more familiar tracks like 'Spin' premiered when the album was announced and 'Creature Carousel' that has appeared on various sessions on Radio 1 and 6Music. The balance between allowing his delicate, arpeggio guitar stand out, sometimes alone, and adding full band is pitched perfectly, on "Pylons" and "As Old as the Grave" specifically. Occasionally, just gentle drum and additional vocals is all that is required and adds to the overall feel to the record. Then Joe on his own at the piano on 'Timber' is heartbreaking in it's simplicity and just increases the impact of the lyrics "An old man crying on the bed by the river, says goodbye to his children and wife". You may not always get to hear this live unless there is a piano at the venue, he told me, as he won't play it on anything but a piano which he doesn't get to bring with him to gigs.

This perfectly demonstrates the travelling troubadour vibe
you get from him. Maybe partly down to how he looks, boots and jeans, long hair and guitar case in hand. He also moved away from his native Bolton, and crossed the Pennines to Leeds. Songs like "Spin" sound like a rolling moving vehicle "Burning wheels, race the ground, now you'll spin your fortunes round". You feel the impetuous is with Eaves right now. Influential people are backing him, he's signed to an iconic label in Heavenly Records and he's just released one of the best debuts in years.

Seeing him at such a intimate venue (you can't get more intimate than standing in front of him in a shop) and getting to meet him afterwards was a thrill and what's more I even got to go round the corner to the pub with him after.
A more lovely, genuine guy you are unlikely to find. He seemed sincerely appreciative of the people making an effort to cram themselves between the shelves of records and CDs and buy his album, and didn't think twice to invite me for a pint.

He plays the Sebright Arms on 12th May, snap up what tickets are left, and join me down the front.