Scott Lloyd: The Northern Gate

The Northern Gate

Scott Lloyd

Haling from Teesside - specifically Middlesbrough - and currently based in Manchester, Scott Lloyd is a folk singer/songwriter unafraid to flaunt his Northern roots.

The Northern Gate is his second release and it should go some way to raising his profile.

Track List

Lock The Door
Morning Light
Somewhere
The Northern Gate
Stay With Me

Lock The Door is all about leaving to find a better life. The tempo is upbeat and the song delivers with a strong and catchy chorus and a good platform to showcase Scott's guitar skills. Morning Light is a love song, again uptempo. Despite the bittersweet nature of the lyrics, it's an uplifting song.

Somewhere is a counterpoint to Morning Light, featuring a slower pace and a tale of regret over a love definitely lost. Punctuated by several outbreaks of harmonica, this is undoubtedly the song which draw the most obvious to other well-known folk singers. Yet - accomplished and good though it certainly is - I prefer Scott's more original-sounding songs, such as Lock The Door and the The Northern Gate. 

The latter is a journey song, in both the physical and emotional sense, with the narrative detailing the act of moving on, and learning from personal mistakes. It's the most original sounding song of the five and the most complex, musically. The saxophone lifts the song in all the right places.

Stay With Me is a simple and short ballad, offering a straightforward, simple and self-explanatory plea. It's a worthy counterpoint to the more involved tracks.

Scott's talents are not confined to writing original folk songs (all five here were self-penned). He played all of the instruments himself and produced the EP too. Impressive!

The Northern Gate is released on Monday 10 March. Fancy trying something fresh and original? You could a lot worse than investigate Scott's new music.

Follow Scott's news and tour dates over at his official website.