For reasons best known to itself, the mainstream seems to have only a limited threshold for singer-songwriters with any level of individuality. With the David Fords and Emmy the Greats of this world playing an unjust second fiddle to the assorted Blunts and Morrisons, it's difficult to gauge exactly how this new album from Andrew Vladeck will be received, considering it's an endearingly off-kilter country-folk exercise that's as overtly charming as it is refreshing.

There's a vaguely Dylan-esque quality to both the vocals themselves and the occasional eccentricity of the lyrics here – see the brilliantly harmonica-flanked stomp of 'The Songs You Inspire' for examples of both – and Vladeck succeeds in clinging to originality. While the quirky lyricism in the minimal balladry of 'Waiting for the Coffee to Kick In' is almost too smart for its own good, the rapid-fire delivery on the title track means that any notion of a mid-album lull is staved off.

While it possibly wants for variation a little, The Wheel is still as accomplished a folk record as you're likely to have heard this year. Doing the simple things well while throwing some new ideas into the mix, it seems Andrew Vladeck has a long way to go.

Rating: 4/5 by Mitch Bain

Tracklisting

1. Hold Me Back
2. You Can't Kill Time
3. The 21st Century
4. The Magnet
5. The Songs You Inspire
6. Waiting For The Coffee to Kick In
7. The Wheel
8. These Streets
9. Picking Apples in Orange County
10. I Want You Near
11. Avenue U
12. China Town
13. The 21st Century (acoustic)

Further links

Andrew Vladeck on Myspace

New York singer-songwriter Andrew Vladeck on MySpace