Album Review

Ryan Keen – Focus

• 22nd Mar 2012

Ryan Keen is a young man with a big future.

24 year old Keen hails from South Devon and falls into the singer songwriter category. He has recently supported Ed Sheeran on tour, has been named as the “One To Watch” in 2012 by The Daily Mirror and has received Radio 1 support from the likes of Fearne Cotton and Zane Lowe (Keen is Zane’s “Next Hype” apparently).

His single Focus has just been released and I can see this one in the charts. It tells of indecision, of wanting to take a chance on something but fearing the consequences. “Come on over, take a chance now…You’re caught in the middle, between your heart and your mind”, he tells us.

Keen has a gentle, mellow voice and backs his vocals with some fine fingerpicking guitar. He displays the conflict in the song very well without going over the top. And after an instrumental break we get to the final message, which is that only you can change your life, “So take the leap and trust your reach.”

There are three other tracks on the single too. See Me Now feels almost like a sequel to Focus. The singer has made the move and it has worked out. Keen shows a wider vocal range on this slightly faster tempo song, deep and strong yet also hitting the high notes well.

In My Mind is a love song with a nice instrumental opening before the smooth vocals kick in. Orelia is a little quirky, another love song with a more expansive guitar part but the same intense and steady vocal delivery. A female vocal harmony adds a nice effect too.

Ryan Keen is clearly very talented – and you’re going to be hearing a lot more from him.