Marques Toliver's back-story reads like the work of a flowery fiction writer. A classically trained violinist who turned to busking, Toliver was discovered first by TV on the Radio and then Bella Union's Simon Raymonde, leading to love, acclaim and walk-on parts from Adele, Grizzly Bear, Bat for Lashes and Jools Holland. His debut album, though, doesn't possess quite the same colour or narrative, Toliver's violin-led, soulful chamber-pop is incapable of sustaining enough notes of distinction throughout. A pity: Toliver's fondness for recasting soul and r'n'b is certainly a fine idea, though his strung-out approach to the task tends to result in bland passages of sound (the overblown Weatherman a case in point). Toliver is at his best when he keeps things pared back and sparse, as on Repetition.
marquestoliver.com
Download: Repetition