British singer-songwriter Charlie Winston, releases his new single ‘Like A Hobo’ in January 2010, and I can honestly say I’ve not heard anything quite like this before. It’s easy to see why the French have taken this guy to their hearts, though at the moment I’m not quite sure what to make of him and his music.

The French influence is apparent throughout all the three tracks on this C.D. It doesn’t take long for the style, mood, and sound of the tracks to put you in mind of a Parisian Café, or Jazz venue. The song title and subject matter of ‘Like A Hobo’ aren’t really for me, though I did get quite caught up in the lively music. The Folk guitar arrangements are layered with other instruments as the song gets going, and the chorus is well written and catchy. I found this track surprisingly enjoyable.

‘Like A Hobo’ is joined on the C.D by two b-side tracks, the first of these being ‘Allo Allo’. This is another up-tempo track, with a great blues vibe to it, but it does get a little annoying. I say this because of the title of the song, it’s like someone repeatedly saying hello to you! Mixed feelings on that, and unfortunately they continue when it comes to the second b-side ‘Boxes’. I found the reflective story, and impressive piano playing quite interesting, but I found the vocal performance quite hard to listen to. The lead track is stronger than the b-sides, and although it’s quite raw and quirky, there wasn’t enough to hold my attention.

‘Like A Hobo’ is released by Real World Records in January 2010. The song is taken from the album ‘Hobo’ scheduled for release on October 26th.