Tobias HengeveldThe Daylight Express
Indie

- Before everyone sighs in exasperation about this review of yet another indie/folk artist, there is a point of difference that makes Tobias Hengeveld stand apart from the general mould that so many artists wind up getting trapped within.

To begin with, each song has a degree of diversity, which is such a welcome relief as so many artists within the genre end up producing an album that basically sounds like one song. Tobias mixes the album up with styles ranging from pop, folk, country, blues and even touches on elements of jazz.

At least half of this album has a beautiful sparseness to it that is easily comparable to the bare, Australian scenery that often inspires it. It’s nice to come across an album that doesn’t feel the need to fill every track with thirty different layers and instruments, just dotted with the bare essentials.

The title track, The Daylight Express is the obvious folk/pop song of the album. However, it’s just well-written and doesn’t rely on breathy, twangy, vocal technique that so many artists seem to think will save a badly written track. Tobias’s voice is bare, honest and easy to enjoy. He doesn’t feel the need to overdo it and that's refreshing for the listener and hones in on the fact that it really is just good song-writing.

The album is literally a journey, detailing the course of the daylight express train service that runs between Melbourne and Sydney. It isn’t hard to imagine this as a soundtrack as you stare out the window, watching the blur of industry whoosh past you, only to eventually make way for panoramic views of the Australian landscape. The haunting melodies abruptly veer into the unexpected, much like fellow folkie Ben Salter. Dry Sea Grave in particular is a stand-out – its melodies move in surprising turns, which you can almost physically feel pulling at you.

With the recent surge in popularity of indie-folk-pop, it’s sometimes hard to distinguish between the true composers who write with heartfelt honesty, and those that have formed a folk band purely in an effort to attain some of that commercial success. You've got to spend some time listening to work out which is which. Spend some time with Tobias Hengelveld.

- Linda Finlay.

Tobias HengeveldThe Daylight Express

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