Musesmuse.com

There is some irony in the title of Shawn Hebb's debut Tourist; the Toronto Singer-Songwriter recorded the CD all by his lonesome is his apartment. Of course the title likely draws more from Shawn's experiences traveling the world performing his music, as well as travels of the heart, be it the fizzle-out of a long-term relationship, or the ones that never got off the ground in the first place. Fortunately Hebb is up to the task of handling a variety of instruments and other production chores, resulting in a consistently catchy 35-minutes of pop that likes to rock.

Shawn Hebb is definitely a melody guy, right down to the handful of tasteful guitar solos that occur on Tourist. And you’re just as likely to be singing along to a song's verse as its chorus. This is evident from the get-go with the bright and bouncy Some Things and continues through much of the disc. You will also be hard-pressed not to cheer the self rediscovery of Now That It's Over, and get your na-na-na's ready for the end of My Own Way.

Comparisons in both the sound of Shawn's music and his voice, can be drawn to the likes of John Mayer, Shawn Mullins and the poppier side of Jack Johnson. A Ben Folds flavor dresses the 'quit the biz-sell my gear' lament of This May Be The Last Time, and one of the CD's better tunes, Three More Days, reminded me a bit of Marc Cohn.

There is an intended lo-fi quality to the CD, which works well enough, but Shawn is adept enough as a producer to have made me curious about how the songs would play if they were held up to a higher integrity of sound.

Chances are, if you like the first couple tunes on Tourist, you'll be in for the whole trip. Warm-up your vocal cords, there's plenty to sing along to.

Writer: Kevin Zarnett

Soulshine.com

Easy, breezy, jangly guitar pop is the order of the day for Shawn Hebb. Guitarist, pianist, singer, lyricist, and former army brat, Hebb is a multi-talented performer, and Tourist is the shimmering product of all that talent. There’s nothing too challenging about the 10-track record—hence the initial easy, breezy comment. Hebb’s got those kind of vocals that ring of normalcy and comfort, and sound like they could be coming from that earnest English major who lives two doors down in res, never to be seen without guitar in hand. That might sound more like an insult than a compliment, but a compliment it is nevertheless—not everyone needs to be Jeff Buckley anyways. It’s a little bit Shins, it’s a little bit Snow Patrol, and it’s even a little bit Jack Johnson. But most important of all, Tourist is all good.

email me:

shawn@shawnhebb.com

Tourist

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