Whitley (a.k.a. Melbourne singer/songwriter Lawrence Greenwood) lies at the junction of Nick Drake, Paul Simon, and bedroom-electronic pop acts like the Postal Service and Cassettes Won’t Listen, and his debut effort, The Submarine, is filled with husky-voiced, mostly acoustic goodness for lovers of any of the above named artists. It’s an uncommonly assured debut, one that resists showiness in favor of gently catchy melodies and thinly layered arrangements. At first listen, The Submarine might sound like just another album of wispy navel-gazing from just another indie-pop songwriter, but give it time to sink in – there’s more going on here than may initially meet the ear. Greenwood has a gift for production, and a knack for grafting small, subtle bits onto his deceptively simple songs; plug in your favorite pair of earbuds, and you can easily get lost in the soundscapes he paints here. Toss in a cover of Jeff Buckley’s “Mojo Pin,” and you’ve got an undeniable magnet for the hoodies-‘n’-iPods set, but something with crossover appeal for fans of good old-fashioned singer/songwriter stuff. Whitley won’t kick your doors in, but if you sit still long enough, he just may end up becoming one of your favorite musical discoveries of the year. (Dew Process 2008)
