Double J Pick of the Week - Szymon

Szymon
Medusa
(Eloper Music/EMI)

It's tragic that the Borzestowski family lost a son, a brother and a friend when Newcastle artist Szymon took his own life at just 23. It's also tragic that the world lost a truly brilliant artist that we didn't even know yet.

It might be selfish to lament an artist's passing because you love their creative output, but we are selfish beings. The praise and sadness that accompanies Szymon's first and only album is the highest tribute we can pay.

Tigersapp is one of the best bedroom records to be produced in this country. It shows a prodigious young man, an outsider, whose natural aptitude and determination to hone his craft resulted in some stunning music.

Medusa is a perfect example of what he was capable of. A perfectly trashy drum beat, an incredible, soulful layered falsetto, a complex crystalline guitar progression and tastefully employed synth parts. But like all brilliant pop songs, it's more than just the sum of its parts. It's complex, but easy to digest. It's the kind of song only a true talent could concoct.

We won't ever get another Szymon record, so we might as well enjoy this one.