Hailing from Rennes in France is Nixon Tyme, and earlier on this month saw the singer-songwriter reveal his powerful new album, "How We Love The Sea". The artist isn't on Spotify so you may feel more attached to this than others, as when we listened to this on the first play there was this huge blank canvas for our ears to fall upon.
The whole album is a concept and showcases Nixon's vocal range, with tones sounding ever-so familiar to the likes of David Bowie and artists of the late 1980s alt-rock scene. "How We Love The Sea" kicks open with the moody tune "Drit and Dust" before swiftly heading into the ballad-sounding "Inside These Walls" - and it's this track that I felt like I was listening to an acoustic Bowie album, as the resemblance in the vocals are so damn similar.
The track "La Passerelle" acts as an interlude giving you a bit of a rest before the heart-on-your-sleeve track "Waiting for You" comes in, and with the track feeling very tender you can't help but get sucked into it with the sheer majesty of it all.
"The Girl Without a Clue" features some sweet female vocals on, kicking up the album a bit with a more upbeat sounding sheen, and with this piece sounding more like Squeeze in places it sounds like Nixon Tyme may just be one of the most underrated acts in France!
For me the final five tracks are propped up with the cinematic "She Shakes the Sand" leading into the toe-tapping "My Oh My" and the cigarette-lighter tune "Single Handed Crossing". The album finishes on two strong tracks with "Shining Star" giving the listener a ride with the slow opening before a cascading alt-indie sound with strings comes in, and the final track "The Day that Zorba Died" giving you that last gasp ballad with tender female/male vocals.