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Steeped in the same kind of chilled melancholy of people like Jack Johnson and Ben Harper, Nelson King is another of those singer/songwriters with a battered acoustic guitar and a sad story to tell. There's an authenticity and feel at play with Nelson King though that immediately leapfrogs him above his many peers, in terms of soul and raw emotion at least.
CAN IT HURT is a bruised and weathered song, every slide guitar lick expressing hard-boiled emotion and every strum sounding world weary and blistered. When Nelson sings his heart out, he does it with the world weary tone of someone who's lived a little, someone who understands the blues are about more than tired old clichés and marketing. The more underwhelming FACE THE SUN, replaces the raw emotion with pretty melodies and dull songwriting - something that places it close to the likes of David Gray, James Blunt and the like, slick and polished but lacking much spirit.
The country/blues of HOUSE ON FIRE, is a neat attempt at Flying Burrito Brothers like songwriting - all tumbling guitar licks and bouncy chords, while Nelson King does his best Gram Parsons meets Steve Earle drawl, and avoiding the trappings of pastiche by actually being pretty damn good. I'LL FALL ON YOU, is another downbeat ballad that finds Nelson King settling into a sound that suits his talents exquisitely. Like the opening track, this is more raw emotion and heartfelt outpourings - the aching guitar lines and bruised melodies combining to give that feel of heartbreak and pathos.
Along similar lines, BLOW ME AWAY, repeats the same tricks and comes up trumps - revealing Nelson King as someone to rival the likes of Joseph Arthur or Ryan Adams in the realms of sadly beautiful soulful country songwriting. YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY and WOULD YOU CARRY ME are songs that don't disappoint, retaining the same level of quality songwriting, the latter song in particular really impressing - coming on like a cross between Alejandro Escovedo, Son Volt and Bruce Springsteen.
ACOUSTIC is a record that has a low-key charm and magic to it, slowly aching songs that contain enough bruised emotion and heartbroken storytelling to truly compel. As a singer/songwriter Nelson King, could well be one of the best kept secrets around at the moment - his songs immediately putting him up there with people like Joseph Arthur and Micah P. Hinson. Not quite a faultless record, with a few songs failing to reach the heights of the stronger material, ACOUSTIC is nevertheless a rough snapshot of a singer/songwriter to cherish.

Music is an inspiration and a lifestyle for Nelson King.
His approach to playing guitar is coupled with a unique ability to capture, in his original songs, a real atmosphere. When hearing some of Nelson King's material, legendary Fleetwood Mac record producer, Mike Vernon, enthusiastically described the music as being, "an interesting pastiche of the down home Texas sounds of the fifties and early Chicago Chess stuff."
Nelson King has created a unique sound, a distinctive style that maintains directness and integrity, but one that expands to capture a further mainstream appeal.
An accomplished singer/songwriter/guitarist, Nelson's previous albums have received extensive worldwide airplay in 15 countries, charting twice in an Australian radio chart. The album Electric is now in the Blue Ears top 25 on high rotation, Blue Ears has just reached the status of most-listened-to European online blues station, and belongs to the Top 20 of online blues stations worldwide.

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