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Sunday, February 03, 2008 

We've previously remarked on the trend of female French singers influenced by Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground.

On the boys' side, however, the heroes seem to be Nick Drake and Elliott Smith. There's a notable surge in French English-language acts who draw on the pastoral folk of the former, the gorgeous melodies of the latter and the tragic melancholy of both. We've already featured the marvellous Cocoon, for instance, who were prominent in our 2007 end-of-year polls.

Now there's an early runner for our 2008 version who's clearly in thrall to Drake and Smith. His name is Jonathan Morali (right), but he trades as Syd Matters. Apart from the early-Floyd allusion of his nom de rock, Morali cites Radiohead's 'OK Computer' as a profound influence on his music, and his singing voice certainly has a touch of Thom Yorke's quieter moments.

That said, his overall sound is closer to Drake's 'Pink Moon' and Smith's 'XO' - intimate acoustic ballads that bypass the navel-gazing introspection of lesser singer-songers.

Syd's third album, 'Ghost Days', has just been released - and it's lovely. First single 'Everything Else' is a good representation of the album; crisp and clear writing in a warm, intimate folk-pop setting. Lyrically, it marries nervous introspection with self-assured smartness: "I thought I was dead, oh / Shot in the head, oh".

You can listen to snippets from 'Ghost Days' on Syd Matters' MySpace page. Here's the charming video for 'Everything Else', whose flying red house makes it strangely similar to the psychedelic opening credits to 'Wanderly Wagon'. Shine on, you crazy diamond!

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