Newcastle’s Ben Bateman deserves considerable praise for his new single ‘Don’t breathe a word’ and the bravery he uses when aiming for, and reaching, a level of honesty rarely seen in pop music.

Similar in sound to early Tracy Chapman, Bateman manages to make his richly textured, emotionally charged, vocals dominate a track which is supported only by a solo electric guitar.  It’s an interesting blend which supports the integrity of the song and which wraps around highly poetic, longing, lyrics about the pain of longing for someone who you know could change your life, if only they realised it (“those pastel colours that frame your eyes, seem to hold on to mine for too long”).

Don’t breathe a word is heartfelt and honest in a way which, I would suspect, many people could relate to and take comfort from and which many will admire for it’s ability to use minimalism to create such a large impact.  Emotional lyrics, stand out vocals and sharp guitar playing make this a difficult track to describe but one which should definitely be enjoyed.

It’ll be interesting to see what’s next for Bateman; if he can bring together another six or seven songs of a similar high quality, we may well be talking about him being the next Tracy Chapman.  Who’s talking about a revolution now!?