"Please don't think that I'm not your sort, you'll find sheds are nicer than you thought" sang Nick Drake on "Man In A Shed" from his classic 1969 debut album "Five Leaves Left." It's a thought that's obviously impinged on young English singer/songwriter and Drake fan POLLY PAULUSMA, as she recorded the bulk of her debut album "Scissors In My Pocket" in her converted garden shed in Clapham.
This move and the fact she's already been touted by Michael Parkinson and Jamie Cullum (who personally requested Polly support on his recent UK tour) may be hardly hipper than thou credentials for the discerning underground pop fan to recognise, but you shouldn't let that put you off as "Scissors In My Pocket" is an understated gem of an album that introduces a subtle talent into our midst.
Aside from being a Cambridge English graduate, Paulusma is a veteran of the still-fertile acoustic pub circuit in London and previously sang back-up vocals for the under-rated Ben & Jason before embarking on the drawn-out recording of "Stones In My Pocket." The effort was worth it, though as the album presents Polly's songs in an entirely natural environment: acoustic and close-miked, with a subtle use of strings and/or horns as necessary. Musically, Polly will no doubt get shoved in under the awkward 'jazz-pop' or 'folk-pop' umbrellas, yet her frail-but-tough songs are accessible enough for virtually anyone discerning to get a handle on.
Certainly there are echoes of folky heroes from Joni Mitchell to Beth Orton along the way, while Nick Drake and the late '60s English folk scene do spring to mind on songs like the sweetly swinging "She Moves In Secret Ways" and - especially "I Was Made To Love You", which is not a million miles away from "Bryter Layter" in feel, though it's also lifted by a tremendous trumpet blast from the splendidly-named Gareth Butterbee.
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But this is only a fraction of the story. Indeed, despite her slightly wordy lyrical approach, Polly's chief goal is to be as direct and emotional as possible, and while tunes like the opening "Dark Side" and "Over The Hill" may be hardly typical chart fodder, they are intriguingly personal vignettes we can all relate to. "Dark Side" finds Polly quietly taking the piss out of her own past ("I've danced with romeos and gigolos, philosophers and slackers/ vagabonds and Cambridge dons, the king of cool's heir apparent"), while the drunken taxi fumblings involved in "Over The Hill" are brilliantly observed and more than credible.
Elsewhere, Polly proves she can also open the throttle when necessary as on the full-tilt pleasure push of "Give Iit Back" or just as effectively rein it in and knock us for six emotionally, as she does to devastating effect on both the dark song of escape that is "One Day" or the poignant, piano-led hospital drama ballad "Perfect 4/4". Meanwhile, Polly herself has told me the closing, immortality-themed "Something To Remember Me By" is entirely tongue-in-cheek, but the sincere delivery makes you wonder.
Whatever the case there, though, one thing is for certain: "Scissors In My Pocket" is a cool debut album from an affecting, slightly off-kilter young singer/ songwriter whose determination and unlikely methods are surely something to embrace and encourage. Proof positive that the only way to get ahead is to get into the shed.
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