You get the feeling that Willy Mason came along a bit too early to be fully appreciated. If that meant avoiding the identikit acoustic troubadour tag that covers a host of today's Paolo's, Morrison's, Johnson's or those much-loathed Blunt beasts, then you get the feeling he and we should breathe a sigh of relief.  Full text...

Dazzling second from Martha’s Harbour folk-blues kid  Full text...

Mason’s nasal voice, as lived in as Evan Dando’s, is hugely appealing, probably more so than the likeable if vague songs, such as We Can Be Strong and Riptide , full of foiled escape and forced travel metaphors.  Full text...

For proof that the Bush regime is leaving indelible dirty thumbprints on the hearts of impressionable young Americans, look no further than Willy Mason. Not only does the 21-year-old Martha's Vineyard native have a voice old beyond his years - that of an ageing whisky-soaked cowboy - but he has also produced one of the most downcast albums of 2007.   Full text...

So while If The Ocean Gets Rough remains a confident follow-up that ought to maintain Mason’s reputation and popularity, there’s a sense that he may need to raise his game a little higher come the third album.  Full text...

Willy's world takes a dark turn, but he has enough depth to stop the ship from sinking  Full text...

Mason has gone for a smoother, more rounded sound this time around to accompany his tales of the world on his shoulders, but has, as a result, eschewed the ramshackle, amateurish charm of his earlier efforts.  Full text...

Whether addressing the existential doubt of college dropouts, bemoaning the way "vultures copyright the word 'free'" or anticipating a time when "the rich shake in their shoes until they learn to sing the blues", his voice has a droning quality apt to make listeners feel as though they are drowning in society's ills.  Full text...

It's plenty catchy and big, but it's also wildly uncreative and predictable.  Full text...