The UK music scene is not exactly suffering from a deficit of wholesome, young male singer-songwriters. Yet in stark contrast to the ersatz, studied banality of the likes of Ben Howard and latest damp squib, James Bay, George Ezra appears to be very much the real deal.
Last year, his impressively inventive debut album, Wanted on Voyage, topped the chart twice, en route to going double platinum, and this Brit awards pre-show indicates that his due industry reward is set to follow. Ezra is up for four Brits at next week’s awards; even given the expected wearisome dominance of Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran, it would be a surprise he receives none.
Shrill screams greet the bashful, clean-cut Ezra, but it would be a mistake to disparage him as a musical lightweight who caters to a teen audience. The rollicking opening track and former single, Cassy O confirms that his meticulously crafted folky blues-pop abounds both in gnomic wit and adhesive, irresistible choruses.
Ezra’s musical touchstones are Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and the primeval blues of Lead Belly, and it is to his huge credit that he is not terminally dwarfed by these influences. He is aided by his remarkable voice: on Listen to the Man, his stentorian bass-baritone, staggering in one so young, evokes the gravelly drawl of Johnny Cash.
Musically, he is not pulling up any trees, but he is arranging his traditionalist ethos into winning and beguiling shapes. As his unobtrusive backing band – lost in the shadows at the back of the stage – fire into the lolloping country-blues of Blame It on Me, the crowd bellows along with its radio-friendly, earworm chorus of “What you waiting for?” A delighted Ezra beams from ear to ear.
Ezra’s prime asset is a total lack of the earnestness that frequently bedevils his peers. His persuasive breakthrough hit, Budapest, is full of astutely cryptic wordplay and infectious chorus whoops; the righteous Did You Hear the Rain? is an immaculate take on Delta blues that Ed Sheeran fans could love.
It’s only when this self-effacing 21-year-old mumbles an anecdote about writing his album on an InterRail trip that you remember how callow he actually is. Once George Ezra has garnered a few experiences to refract through his formidable talent, he could be truly special.
• At Colston Hall, Bristol, on 16 February. Box office: 0844 887 1500. At O2 Academy, Birmingham (0844 477 2000) on 17 February. Then touring.
