Albeit a recipient of several UK Blues awards, recent years have seen Connor Selby take advantage of support slots with more established household names in live situations and musically that’s led to something of detour. Such occasions mean he can just walk on with an acoustic guitar, and possibly a second guitarist, thus allowing the more personalised singer-songwriter character of his nature to come to the fore.

Thus, he’s currently touted as something of a troubadour – The source of that word, be you seeking it in Italian, or later French, infers one for invention, or perhaps a creator of fictional stories within song. Whereas Selby’s lyrics by his own admission tend to be introspective. Alone on a stage, these naked truths poignantly reveal themselves. For those of us who first witnessed him under such circumstances his recordings have proved to have both added depth and breadth.

As with his self-titled debut, sophomore album The Truth Comes Out Eventually may take the listener by surprise for there’s very much a full band present. They’re there to support the songs, adding textures and mood but with notable individual skill too.

As for the main man, I’m reminded less of Georgie Fame this time round, but there remains a well-seasoned and wide-pitched voice, both extending beyond the man’s age. Smoky but smooth, mostly delivered in a first person narrative, we are offered wizened metrosexual musings rather than bedsit mopping. There is as much joy as sadness expressed, and while – broadly speaking – the subject matter rarely detours between being-in-live and love-lost they vary enough not to detract and there are side issue reflections within many of the songs for those who listen carefully.

Opening at a brisk, jaunty pace before heading into a little light skipping, ‘Someone’ jazzily has us take in a large dose of fresh air as Selby intimates there’s a fresh new love in his life that makes even the current woes of the world out there bearable. His voice warmly resonates as female backing echoes his sentiments while a horn section offer encouragement, even as an electric guitar parks up here and there with respectful machismo and keyboards egg things on, infrequently getting excited. On the one hand the whole song’s quite laid back, but it’s deceiving as there’s a lot’s going on musically.

Whereas, coming on with attitude, ‘All Out of Luck’ picks up the beat. This is mod-centred, initially organ-fuelled blues, with an Otis Span flavour, s Selby starts ticking off a list of things that have gone wrong, yet brushing them off with a nonchalant pragmatist qué será, será vibe. Changing tune while slowing things down a tad, he starts getting more personal, telling us how he was “born with a broken heart” and the glass half-empty slow but-not-personally-bitter blues of title track ‘The Truth Comes Out Eventually’ slow dances us into the wee hours of the night. Orchestration weighs in, brittle guitar comes in to solo just where it should, and Selby’s voice emotes with deep expression on what’s ultimately love song.

A statement of fact, rather than coming over brash, ‘(I Am) Who I Am’ is about as edgy a blues rocker as we get on this record. Some forceful tortured lyrical guitar work at play, this one’s about another relationship gone awry and how he’s not taking anymore. Perhaps subsequently regretting walking out the door, ‘I Won’t Be Hard To Find’ comes next and it’s a thoughtful piece of country rooted Americana with pedal steel and piano to the forefront musically on this one. ‘I’ll Never Learn’ he declares on the next number, reminiscing of happier times and ongoing mistakes made – On this one, female backing and horns once more stir things coolly along over an arrangement that stretches out in upbeat dichotomic performance to the words sung. Over six minutes long, there are some fine solos taking their turn between a well sung tale, that stretches not a moment too long.

One of the quieter highlights on this album is ‘Amelia’ wherein a finger-picked acoustic partners poetic words rather beautifully like a FaceTime-friendly Nick Drake. Electric six strings return for ‘It Hurts To Be In Love’ that sits nicely in a BB King blues manner, with subtle humour to the music working in contrast to the lyrical delivery again. ‘What Else Is There To Say’ reminisces on a love lost, and again there’s an acceptance in the hurt felt with lines like: “you captured my heart just to set it free”.

‘Songbird’ ends the album. This is another slice of Americana, come slightly sun-kissed number as finger picked notes play out, with an unknown female voice duetting in harmony over occasional lines. Unhurried, like a warm summer day, the song itself of a bird flying off, a metaphor for love, the past, and possibly any regrets felt. It bookends the album faithfully.

Gentle, not rushed, emotive; this is a bold but polite statement about who Connor Selby is right now. I’m not one for taking life as a journey, but it’s apparent the distances he’s travelled since his debut.

Musically its bluesy, with shuffles into jazz and a little country, with a couple of longish numbers that are hardest to settle genre wise. Had Van Morrison not gotten so heavily involved with big band arrangements he might have dallied along a similar musical route that Connor Selby is on now.

This is a charming album. While there’s room for growth, I fully expect Selby to reach them, and hopefully at his own pace.

• Reviewed by Paul H Birch.

• The Truth Comes Out Eventually is available from Provogue Records: https://www.mascotlabelgroup.com/products/connor-selby-the-truth-comes-out-eventually-cd?_pos=1&_sid=eb953f71e&_ss=r

Track List:

1. Someone
2. All Out of Luck
3. The Truth Comes Out Eventually
4. (I Am) Who I Am
5. I Won’t Be Hard To Find
6. I’ll Never Learn
7. Amelia
8. It Hurts To Be In Love
9. What Else Is There To Say
10. Songbird