ADRIAN THRILLS: Romantic side of Homeland star Damian’s latest mission

DAMIAN LEWIS: Mission Creep (Decca)

Verdict: Sincere songwriting detour

Judgement: ****

TOM GRENNAN: What if and maybe (insanity)

Verdict: feel-good songs for summer

Judgement: ***

Damian Lewis knows exactly what he’s getting into. ‘It’s exactly what the world needs… another record from an actor’, says the film star dryly about his new career as a singer-songwriter.

With fellow thespians Kiefer Sutherland, Hugh Laurie, Jeff Goldblum and Scarlett Johansson all having released albums in recent years – and Johnny Depp seemingly happiest with a guitar in his hands – he has a point.

But 52-year-old Lewis, who played U.S. Marine Nicholas Brody in Homeland and Steve McQueen in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, steps into music with honorable intentions, and his debut album Mission Creep is nothing like a vanity project or midlife. . crisis.

A contemplative set of rock, folk and jazzy grooves, it’s a heartfelt affair with a natural feel.

After conceiving the songs, without co-writers, in lockdown, Damian was introduced to the London-based jazz musicians of Kansas Smitty’s House Band by the saxophonist of the septet Giacomo Smith, and it is they who have created most of the richly varied provide guidance. here, with Smith and slide guitarist Dave Archer in the foreground.

Inevitably, parts of this record reflect the recent turmoil Lewis has been going through. His wife, Peaky Blinders actress Helen McCrory, died of breast cancer in April 2021, and it’s hard to listen to the raucous yet poetic anthem She Comes without seeing it as an elegy to her: “She comes as a blackbird, she comes as a fox, she sits in front of a window, she sings from a rock,” Lewis laments.

But Mission Creep is otherwise more romantic than sad. Hole In My Roof may be a chronicle of late-night desperation, but the sense of melancholy is set against a backdrop of jazz-funk.

My Little One finds Lewis dabbling in rockabilly. Well, the album’s sole co-writer (with Smith) is an old-fashioned New Orleans swing piece.

There is a strange return to the day job. The compelling blues song Never Judge A Man By His Umbrella was inspired by his portrayal of secret agent Nicholas Elliott in the spy drama A Spy Among Friends.

There’s a hint of overenthusiastic fanboy in the album’s three covers, Neil Young’s Harvest Moon, JJ Cale’s After Midnight and Dr. John’s Such A Night.

But this is a playful but harrowing detour. Before becoming an actor, Lewis spent a summer traveling France and Spain with a guitar and a second-hand motorcycle, making this the culmination of long-held dreams.

Like Jessie Buckley, the actress who made a Mercury-nominated album with guitarist Bernard Butler, he makes a dramatic switch with surprising confidence.

• He made a name for himself as a gritty, blue-eyed soul man, but Tom Grennan gave a glimpse of what could be in last weekend’s Soccer Aid charity football game. The former winger of the Luton Town youth team was named player of the match for the second year in a row and also became the first person to appear in the televised pre-season friendly and deliver the half-time show, a tricky job he did well.

The Bedford singer, 28, brings a similar positivity to his third album, What Ifs & Maybes, mixing big, booming choruses with upbeat messages. Ballads are few and far between.

With Ed Sheeran opting to avoid direct earwigs on his latest album, Subtract, there’s a vacancy for a serious but fun male pop star – and Grennan is vying with Lewis Capaldi to be this year’s man of the year. Getting here has not been smooth sailing.

His latest album, Evering Road, dealt with his guilt at the end of a three-year relationship. There was also a rocky moment in February when he made a comment about Ellie Goulding’s metal breastplate to the British.

He quickly apologized, saying the nerves had gotten the better of him, and Ellie agreed there was no harm in it.

Party songs have never been high on his agenda, but What Ifs & Maybes changes that.

He uses his best falsetto on How Does It Feel, a finger-popping dance tune on which he begs an old flame for a second chance.

Remind Me finds two ex-lovers trying to recapture their lost passion. Here, as sung at Soccer Aid, preaches togetherness.

Many of these tracks were co-written and produced with musician Andrew Wells, who provides piano, guitar and bass, and span a range of styles. Sleeping Rough is a Coldplay-esque arena belter. Driven by twangy guitars and subtle beats, Psychedelic Kisses strives for the sunny optimism that is a calling card of Harry Styles and George Ezra.

Given that he’s such a versatile singer, Grennan sells himself short in sidelining ballads. Someone I used to know opens slowly but picks up the tempo, leaving only the closing track, You Are Not Alone, as a moment of sensitivity.

It’s one of the best things here, enhanced by the elegant strings of orchestrator Rosie Danvers, fresh from working with Noel Gallagher.

Perhaps he will leave introspection for another day.

But What Ifs & Maybes, while lacking the more subtle nuances of yesteryear, looks set to be one of the great pop albums of the summer.

• Both albums were released today. Tom Grennan is playing outdoor shows this summer (tomgrennan music.com). Damian Lewis plays Black Deer Festival and Union Chapel, London today, July 11 (damianlewismusic.com).