David’s Lyre release their debut album ‘Picture Of Our Youth’ on a pay-what-you want basis. This alternative pop collection will be the first, and sadly, only offering from singer/writer/producer Paul Dixon’s latest project, for creative differences saw him walk from a deal with a major record label and decide to self-release. Certainly on this evidence - Dixon will have no problem carving a future career and gaining the plaudits his undoubted talents deserve. Quite the songsmith, he manages to detail feelings of angst and regret with consummate ease. Take for example the hook from ‘This Time’ - a simple sentence “This time, this time, I’ll say I love you”- but when coupled with the passionate, wavering, almost androgynous, strains that typify Dixon’s vocal delivery, we have on our hands a back story of lost love uttered in mere seconds. Examples of this simple genius are littered throughout the album but equally impressive is the ability of the band to provide a varied musical backing. Stripped back, as in the self-explanatory ‘Piano Song’, Dixon’s voice soars but thankfully the collective resist the temptation to make this a recurrant theme. ‘Picture Of Our Youth’ is a wonderful advert for Paul Dixon - his next project will be eagerly anticipated.