A little over a decade ago, when I first began reporting on music in Guernsey, one name was going round as being the next big thing to watch, particularly as a guitarist, Joe (then going by JJ) Corbin.

At the time ‘JJ’ was fronting The Spitshine Blues Band and going about as far against the grain of the punk and metalcore that made up most of the island’s youthful music scene.

From there he went on to front the more seasoned Spoonful, coming into his own as a Stevie Ray Vaughan inspired charismatic bluesman in quite fine style, reaching a peak of popularity before he headed off, as many youngsters from the island do, to study in the U.K.

That was nearly a decade ago and in that time he has been slowly carving out his niche at the grassroots end of London’s sprawling music scene and, a few short-lived other projects aside, has now released his debut EP proper, Brixton Sky.

It’s immediately striking that gone is the swagger and power blues of old replaced with something far more measured and thoughtful with acoustic guitars, pianos and strings taking the lead along with Corbin’s distinctive voice.

Testify opens the EP with some funk and groove added to the singer-songwriter stylings, and a gospel-ish feel to the backing vocals contrasts nicely with Corbin’s gravelly tones.

A song about being a songwriter may be a fairly cliché thing but, on Testify, Corbin does a nice job of capturing it.

We then head into what feels like far more personal territory on Never Enough and I Don’t Believe. Both have far simpler instrumentation than Testify and have a nicely melancholy and soulful edge.

Brixton Sky then rounds things off and is probably the most evocative of the four songs with its imagery working with a cello added to all that appears on the other tracks to complete a song that paints pictures and tells a story.

Produced by another Guernseyman, Charlie Sherbourne, there is a great balance between the varied instruments that is subtle and highlights the strength of each while leaving Corbin’s vocals to shine through all.

While Brixton Sky may not be an EP to make you jump for joy, Corbin’s early blues tenure is very present in that regard, it comes with a strong universality that connects with the listener and hopefully sets the scene for more to come.