Jamie N Commons - Devil In Me

There is something immediately striking about Jamie N Commons: there aren’t too many 22-year-olds singing the blues. Last year’s ‘The Baron’ EP introduced Commons’ soulful deep sound, gaining him a spot on the BBC Sound Of 2012 long list; ‘Devil In Me’ is his new single and looks to capitalise on that success.

Here, Commons’ soulful and bluesy rasp of a voice is extremely impressive and there is a real story behind the track’s tale of a religious encounter filled with guilt and regret. Indeed, religion is a recurring theme in Commons’ work. Unfortunately, whilst it is certainly a good piece of music, somehow ‘Devil In Me’ does not quite catch fire as you feel it should.

Despite the impressive vocals, the track is disappointingly overwrought as choirs and an overall vibe of bombast means it becomes slightly overbearing after a promising intro. Still, there is huge promise in the singer who stands out a mile from an increasingly homogenous crowd.