NEWTON Faulkner has been wowing the crowds at festivals across the country all summer, which seems to make this the perfect time to release his first album.

It is reminiscent of the gentle, playful style of Jack Johnson but with the added bonus of knowing that this talent is homegrown - and somewhat more extraordinary.

Faulkner's guitar work is incredible and seeing him perform may be the only way of convincing some people that only one guitar is used in most of these songs.

There has been some pressure to lay a heavier hand over the production for album release but the magic of Faulkner's talents is still easily evident.

With 17 tracks in total, it would be forgivable to let the standard slip on the odd few, so it seems almost ironic that the only track which jars is the cover of Teardrop, which has been getting so much radio coverage. It really doesn't let this fantastic musician fully show off his talents.

Luckily the beautiful folky pop of tracks like Feels Like Home and People Should Smile More are evidence enough that his talent has plenty of depth to mine yet for future albums.

AT