Album Review: Jack Garratt - Phase

British singer-songwriter Jack Garratt is the man of the moment.

The self-written, self-performed, self-recorded, and largely self-produced debut album from the Buckinghamshire native is an impressive exercise in balance, straddling the blurred line between electronic dance music and the blues. Equally influenced by the soulful experimentation of artists like Frank Ocean and the analogue emotions of rock'n'roll blunderbuss Jack White, Phase is an album that seeks to meld man and machine. It's when he embraces this juxtaposition that Garratt sounds the most engaging, with songs like Weathered, Breathe Life and Surprise Yourself marrying his warm singing with distanced electronica that springs to life at all the right moments. It's hot and cold, quiet and loud, life in death.