The singer/songwriter genre has been churning out artists for centuries: for better or for worse. While the style has produced some of the greatest songwriters ever, who undoubtedly changed the face of music, we've also been subjected to hippies on street corners strumming a few out of tune chords and rambling inane lyrics. The popularity of the Americana folk has moved like the tides over the past decades, reforming itself every so often to keep up with modern trends. It seems more often than not audiences are left with the same old style, rehashing lyrics from past generations. Still, every once and a while we are blessed with some originality.

Last year saw the release of Storyville, a fresh collection of folk songs form Scott Tyler, which captures the antiqued feel of days gone by. Tyler was on target as both a singer and a songwriter with this EP as both the music and lyrics are smartly crafted then executed. A combination of quirky and heartfelt tunes are encased within the realm of Storyville which fashions the feel of a place all too familiar to the listener. The voice of Scott Tyler has a warm cordial connotation to comfort the assemblage and draw them into his tales of life and the struggles it brings. Just as strong as the lyrics is the music: ranging from country western mixed with rock to the traditional acoustic guitar ballad so that the instrumentation avoids the cliché staleness of so many folk songs. Toss in a handful of session musicians for backing vocals and somewhat catchy choruses, Storyville is a rather solid release musically.

While the majority of the songs are very strong the album does suffer from their arrangement on it. The opening track just does not work at all as an opener and should have been placed further back as wells as some of the songs being placed in a different order to give a little smoother transition. In an odd twist the production is a little off too; it sounds a tad over produced but nothing that ruins the EP.

This release is a breathe of fresh air amidst a scene being dominated by copycat musicians and boring songwriters. Hopefully the pleasant surprise that is Scott Tyler will continue to put out songs of the same quality (and better!) that is Storyvill.
Scott Tyler
MySpace

Just listening to him on his myspace. First impressions: his guitar work reminds me a bit of Iron & Wine, which is good. I can't quite place the vocals, but I like them too. As we're on the topics of singer songwriters, I thought I'd recommend Mat Kearney to you. He's quite a bit different from this guy, but still good. He brings almost a funk, hip hop feel to some Chris Martin style songs. I could be way off, but you just have to listen to him. I think you'd get on with his message and lyrical themes too. You'll understand if you look further. Though it's not for me, I thought you may enjoy it. As for Scott Tyler, he's probably not someone I'd listen to much, but it's good nonetheless.