Marcus Foster - Nameless Path

Marcus Foster - Raspy voiced Londoner follows up his promising Tumble Down EP -- one that we said heralded the 24-year-old as one of the year's best new performing songwriters -- with his debut full-length...the freewheeling foundation may be folk based but Foster brings a dramatic passion and loose-limbed rock swagger to these impressive compositions...new project was shepherded by Communion Records, co-founded by Mumford and Sons' Ben Lovett // Release: Nameless Path (September 27 Geffen U.K.) // Sounds like: one of those great voices that comfortably swings between caterwauling emotionalism and sublime tenderness... soulful, earnest, direct -- apt comparisons to early Van Morrison...Foster's self-described early "obsession" with the songwriting of Tom Waits "completely influenced the way I set about writing my own songs"...

Quote: 'Marcus cannot work to a click-track. He doesn't understand it, so everything has to be recorded live and rely on the vibe alone. We'd find him at 3am locked in a makeshift chamber-room nailing his guitar solo for the next day's recordings. You can definitely hear that in the energy of the record." -- Ben Lovett  // What we like: "I Was Broken" is illustrative of Foster's particular style: a gentle acoustic beginning shifts seamlessly to a raw, open-nerve wail of primal pain and reflective release (watch the video with an appearance by Twilight actress Kristen Stewart below)..."I Belong Here" takes a striking melody and simple chord progression and with Foster's husky, soulful vocals, becomes a song of stark potent force...

Marcus Foster - "I Belong Here" (from Nameless Path)

Marcus Foster - "I Was Broken" (from Nameless Path)