St Thomas aka Thomas Hansen hails from Norway and, after a few false starts, this is his comeback return as a singer/songwriter/instrumentalist/producer. This album was recorded in over just four days and is almost inevitably stripped down, sincere and highly effective.

Opening with the bouncy and quite pleasant Sunny Day, I was struck by Hansen’s vocal similarity to the late, great Elliott Smith. You May Find A Treasure Everywhere ups the musical stakes with nice guitar riffs, an extremely strong melody and a high degree of originality. This is one of the best tracks on the album, and a potential single. The next track, Paris, Texas failed to impress but is then followed by three wonderful songs. Like You Know possesses a darker, harder edge and with its multi-layered vocal is another album highlight. Come My Way has Hansen sounding very much like Will Oldham and possesses a distinct soft country vibe. This song reminds me of an old steam train making relentless and steady rather than spectacular progress. It’s also another potential single. The pace then slows to a glacial trot with the third consecutive great song, Silence Breaks Your Heart, which features a sweet female vocal and moving instrumental moments. Throughout the album Hansen sings about his personal experiences of love and loss, and special moments that have left their mark. He has been compared to Neil Young but the only real example of this comes with Waltzing Around Insane, where the similarity is striking. But it’s the Elliott Smith influence that dominates this record. The main difference between the two artists is that Smith used a precision sniper rifle, whereas Hansen has used a shotgun.

The album closes on another highlight in The Red Book which sounds like a modern version of an old English folk song. This is a charming album which sounds better after each listen, and while influences are very obvious there is still a degree of originality that marks this artist out. Hansen is no Elliott Smith but given time, who knows…

3.5/5