Variant is the work of South Wales guitar lecturer and recording musician Matthew Scott. Seamlessly blending a variety of classical and eighties influences into his work, Scott has written, mixed and produced an incredibly accomplished and diverse 12-track album. His effort is almost as much as an emotional journey as it is a record, there is a raw, soulful persona displayed on the album that is not unlike long-standing artists such as Stevie Wonder and the more rock and roll likes of Bowie.

Nelle’s Dream a 4-minute hair-metal freak out, is almost a carbon copy of how Iron Maiden would play with one of their hits at a live show. Acoustic ballad Believe In Me and country infused Clydach sound suited to a pop artist such as Westlife or Lee Ryan, while pure filler comes in the shape of the instrumental My Blues. More 80s metal parody, this time taking Metallica’s word on how to do it, on The Struggle Within. The following track Between Two Worlds sounds like the first 2 tracks again, more pop-rock than Grandpop - Rock. Variant fizzes with gentle acoustic and harmonic track Perfect Friends (imagine a slow 'well it’s true that we love one another’) and then, a kiddie/blues/jazz that is The Street, a song about Sesame Street.

One gets the feeling, that this album is about showcasing Scott’s talents as a songwriter. There is certainly talent evident, not least because the songs achieve what they’re meant to achieve. The soft-rock tracks are spot on, the pop-song efforts are simple but gently effective, and Scott hones these styles down very well. The stadium metal parodies again reveal Scott’s ability to compose in various genres. Including The Street only points further to this being a collection of Scott’s songwriting capabilities. So, full marks for the pop and rock songs!