British Breakthrough Act of the year, Tom Walker, releases first studio album...

Cover artwork for Tom Walker's debut album - 'What a Time to Be Alive'

Following his success at the Brit Awards this year, the 27 year-old 'Best Breakthrough Act' winner has gone on to release his first full studio album – 'What A Time To Be Alive'. The 14 track collection features other artists Zara Larsson and Rudimental, as well as his best-known hit 'Leave a Light on'.

This album makes a fine start to Tom Walker’s discography. It’s a solid collection of songs with some impressive features and song writing for an emerging artist. His Indie-pop tunes have earned him 7th place on the UK Singles chart this year and the Scottish singer is continuing to flex his talent this month.

The opening track 'Angels' sets the tone of the album well, with a style reminiscent of fellow indie-pop/rock artists Hozier and Alex Clare. The beat is steady throughout and sounds richly layered, however it doesn’t quite have the same impact as his top hit which plays next.

The familiar 'Leave a Light On' comes next, followed by a couple of perfectly melodic however more underwhelming tunes. Track 5 'Now You’re Gone' featuring Swedish singer Zara Larsson makes for a nice change of pace. The vocals blend well and the harmonies add a much needed other dimension and richness to the album.

The following few tracks are impressive, but lack the originality to make them download-worthy. Tom Walker reminds me of a one-man Imagine Dragons… the talent is most definitely there however it’s a sound we’ve heard before and it would be more interesting to see how this new artist could repurpose the indie-pop sound we have been hearing over the past few years.

The song 'Cry Out' sounds like it could be straight off of Hozier’s 2014 debut album. The production quality for this track and many others on this album is undeniably good, and the rhythms are catchy and memorable. But it’s the small issue of unoriginality that stops me from downloading this album to my Spotify, and it’s an issue that for an emerging artist finding their feet in the industry, could be crucial in their future success.

'Dominoes' feels like Walker has taken a step back from the rest of the album, to write a song that a young, politically-charged audience can connect with. I always appreciate when artists address widespread issues in their music and create a political commentary in their music, and I’m glad that Tom Walker has established a track like this on his album.

As well as two versions of his popular tune 'Just You and I' the penultimate track on this album is an up-beat, if slightly repetitive song in which he has teamed up with English drum and bass band Rudimental. It’s a nice tone to leave the album on, and breaks up what is a collection of somewhat similar tracks.

Tom Walker has the perfect foundations for a great musical career, and his vocal abilities are worthy of the success he has so far achieved, as well as that of the future. However, I feel that unoriginality is what is holding him back from being a chart topper and firm favourite. That being said, for a debut album, 'What A Time To Be Alive' is by far an achievement to be hailed.

Listen to 'What A Time To Be Alive' here on Spotify.