bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Mathew Scott

Johnny Flynn
A Larum
(Vertigo)
British artist Johnny Flynn  is one talented young man, balancing as he does stage careers as a musician and an actor. Talented and - in the eyes of the record label honchos, we can presume - marketable.
And that's perhaps why he has been pushed front and centre  for a solo release that's basically 'solo' in name alone.
Flynn started out as guitarist of the folk outfit Sussex Wit,  then the 25-year-old graduated to lead vocal duties.  A Larum still finds Flynn out in front of the band - all its other members have a hand in all the album's tracks. So just why he was given this billing is anyone's guess.
Regardless, Flynn shows his literary leanings throughout, and the release is very much a modern folk excursion, full of clever lyrics and all sorts of instruments fiddling around in the background.
There's a rootsy feel to Flynn's leanings, as you'll feel throughout  the rambling Shore to Shore, while he tips his hat to the blues too, wailing a lonely trumpet on the mournful Hong Kong  Cemetry  (his grandfather is buried here, apparently).
And while there's little doubting the man's talent - he throws in a little violin and accordion behind his singing and guitar playing - it's hard to escape the feeling  you've heard it all before.
Maybe that's just the limitations of folk, but there's more life to the likes of the Pogues and more skill  in the hands of Richard Thompson.
The likes of All the Dogs Are Lying Down - which brings the release to a stirring close - show a talent that's on the rise.
But the lad still has a way to go before he finds a sound that's truly his own.



Johnny Flynn