Maverick Sabre – or Michael Stafford, Irish singer and rapper born in Hackney – sounds decidedly like the late Amy Winehouse at the beginning of No One. Not a bad comparison at first glance, is it? However, as the single progresses, the soulful heartache of Winehouse is displaced by a far more knowing, cynical sheen – as if Sabre is distinctly aware of the sound he is aspiring to.
The guitar is swingingly up-stroked, the drums are simple yet dominant and the vocals are quite catchy. However, it all seems a bit too formulaic – in the rise of the chorus, in the tinge of the vocals and in the swooning background strings there are hints that this is just not a genuinely written track. It’s not a bad single; it just lacks the back story, emotion, melody or lyricism to make it truly memorable.
Words by Josh Suntharasivam
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