Jimmy Brewer

Jimmy Brewer is a songwriter, he is also a guitar player and a singer; however, he is not your typical sad acoustic troubadour. Jimmy Brewer has the power to silence a room with little more than an intro. He captures an audience and takes them on an emotional rollercoaster ride, leaving them exhausted, amazed and fulfilled.

Growing up in rural Lincolnshire, he found inspiration amongst his parents’ record collection while his peers were busy with the Spice Girls. Jimmy initially learnt to play on a guitar from the Argos catalogue. Obsessively listening and mimicking the dusty old vinyl, Jimmy would often pretend to be ill so that he could stay home from school to do so. The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and…Shakin’ Stevens were certainly not "cool" bands for an eight year old to be listening to in 1996.

Fast forward to the present day and those early influences are still his biggest and most important, but with the addition of the old school sounds of Nat King Cole and Fats Domino through to the more contemporary styling of Jeff Buckley. There are hints at the quirkiness of David Bowie, the wit of Jerry Reed and the imagination of Tom Waits, whilst maintaining a Muddy Waters-esque blues feel. This diverse range of influences is very much in evidence on his debut album As Time Stands Still, demonstrating that the craft of classic song writing is still very much alive and well.

As Time Stands Still is a collection of songs written over the past year and a half. The majority of the album was recorded in a studio on a dairy farm in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. "The idea was to create an album of ups and downs, with a two-sided feel as if it were a record. My favourite albums all have a very clear shape." Secluded and free from distractions, Jimmy and producer Owain Fleetwood Jenkins often found themselves working solidly for twenty hours a day (apart from when the milking parlour was running), fuelled by endless cups of tea and "the freshest, creamiest milk you will ever taste!"

The mournful, almost medieval sounding ballad "Velcro Girl" the heart breaking "It Still Aches" and the memorial "Gordon" are contrasted with the nostalgia of "Watching Records Go Round & Round" and the humorous retrospective "Two Inches Taller", a song about being the shortest boy in your class. This album has something which everyone can enjoy, and one listen will prove that you won’t grow tired of hearing it.

Jimmy Brewer is a guitarist, singer and songwriter with maturity beyond his years. Listen to him.