I got a breezy email from Sean Fournier the other day recommending that I check out his 6 track album, Oh My.

Normally, I approach this type of email with caution – you never know if the contents are going to be good or appalling. But Sean’s confidence and enthusiasm impressed me enough to download his free album. That last link’s a hint, by the way!

If you’ve read my posts about other singer/songwriters, you’ll know that I believe being a singer/songwriter is one of the hardest things in the world. That’s a limitation of being one man (or woman) and an acoustic guitar. Fournier, since you’re wondering, manages to offer something pleasurably unique: melodic, catchy tunes with clever accompaniments that lift the songs beyond the ordinary.

Let’s jump straight to my favourite track – Put The World On Stop – a piano-led track that incorporates a bassline that takes the song almost into hip-hop territory. Trust me, you’ll be singing that one line all day.

I won’t give you a track-by-track account of each song – just go and listen to the album. The bottom line is, the first five tracks are well-crafted songs, and Fournier’s voice is smooth and relaxing on all. Having spent the last hour listening to the album, I’m feeling really chilled out.

Most of the songs on Oh My are of such a high quality, it wouldn’t be a surprise to hear them in the charts. Broken Stereo is immense, one of the strongest choruses on the album – definitely check that one out.

The final track, Holding The Hand Of The Hurricane moves into more experimental territory, with a seemingly Indian influence to the instrumentation. It’s a touch out of place with the other songs, but shows that Sean has a flair for the dramatic, declaring “yeah I’m gonna live forever, as long as I feel your rain/dancing around like I’m holding the hand of the hurricane”.

Oh, and I should mention the quality of the presentation – the cover art is beautiful, and the album includes a little PDF booklet with the lyrics to the songs, all very stylishly laid out. If that’s not enough incentive to download the album, I don’t know what is!

Spread the word!

When you’re getting an album for free, it’s always nice to spread the word about it. If you do happen to download Oh My, make sure you tell your friends about it – share it on your Facebook/MySpace/Twitter profiles. You can even talk about it in real life too!

Stalk Sean Fournier on the Internet!

Not only is Sean a talented singer and songwriter, but he’s a clever self-publicist. If you become a fan after hearing this album, you’ll be pleased to know that Sean can easily be stalked all over the Internet.

Start off on his official website, move on to MySpace, where you can friend him and listen to his latest tunes. And if you want to catch up with his exploits, his blog is an essential stopping point.