Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

This three track EP from singer/songwriter Smart Hopewell - originally from North London but now based in Scotland - is a collection of stripped down songs featuring the man himself on acoustic guitar and vocals. Hopewell's vocals certainly have character and potential - his performance on "Royal Safe" is arguably his best shot - but overall this release is hampered by sub standard mixing and songs that could do with more development before being released for public consumption. For instance, the appropriately-titled opener "Beginning" sounds as though it has been improvised whilst the aforementioned "Royal Safe" contains the somewhat dubious line "you can't get on, you can't get off using people's hearts like toilet roll" amidst other lyrics that err too much on the cryptic side to be open to interpretation - spiritually or otherwise. The final track "Star Ceiling" is perhaps the EP's strongest offering thanks to some surprisingly effective sporadic drumming to augment a steadier performance from Hopewell that hints at the potential on offer should he begin to refine his output in the future.

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