When it comes to reaching for a heartfelt sound, Noah Villeneuve isn’t holding back. His debut solo recording ‘Kneejerk’ begins slowly, presenting his rich vocal tones almost unnacompanied. Bringing in slow, acoustic strums, the melody builds, but clearly aims to draw in the audience gradually. Noah isn’t out to wow people with massive hooks, but to make them…listen – a gift that seems to be fading in this world of short attention spans.

With the acoustic guitars building in volume throughout the first verse, there’s a feeling of something grand buried just beneath the surface of a gentle melody, and then, introducing a soft rhythm and a crying steel guitar, the track takes on the heart of an old Jayhawks ballad or deep cuts from Luke Combs. The “Canadian born, Bristol bred, London based” singer songwriter has a perfect feel for thoughtful Americana, and the understated music is a very natural fit for his equally understated vocal, which occasionally rises to share a broad cry, falling somewhere, somewhat unexpectedly, between the work of Gene’s Martin Rossiter and the much lauded Jeff Buckley, despite sounding like neither performer, tonally.

This is a brilliant, mature work; for a debut, it’s entirely unconcerned with making an instant impression. Instead, the performer allows his natural sound to wash over the listener, allowing each play to sound better than the previous one. It’s the kind of track that a great singer songwriter might share on their second or third album, suggesting there’ll be even more greatness to come from Noah’s debut album, which is set for release in 2026.