"It's about time I started taking chances," claims twentysomething David Gillespie on 'Casual Advances' a track taken from his debut album entitled Out In The Real World. Well Mr. Gillespie, your decision to scrap your initial acoustic based recordings in favour of a full-blown band release was a fair start. The kind of music Gillespie creates (mostly unabashed pop but more on that later) is so out of step with today's generic pop music that you realize how big a chance he has taken. If he had stuck to the original acoustic format that seems to be all the rage then he would be on easy street by now (if only he knew how to surf).

In its place is a confident debut that plays up to his strengths of great melodies and deft songwriting. The themes of the album (young man in the big world with all the associated joys and pressures) therefore compliment the underlying notion that this brave task he has undertaken can crumble around him at any second. It makes for a much more interesting listen I must say.

Cornerstone songs like 'Roll To Me' (which hits the stratosphere by the end of the second verse and keeps going), the feel-good vibe of 'Out In The Real World' and album closer 'Down To You' are inspiring poptastic tunes that will have you humming along for a long while yet. 'Down To You' in particular has an accompanying sax solo that offers proof that Dave Matthews can run the pop chart gauntlet and exit unscathed from his die-hard fans if he gave it a bit more thought.

Soaring ballad 'Love Of My Life' (originally written as an engagement gift for a friend) will get the female admirers in the door but luckily it's saccharine lyrics are countered by a haunting afro-celt melody that diverts it from Diane Warren territory.

But it's the least obvious tracks that deserve the most praise. The one-two combination of 'One Light On' and 'Meanwhile' that arrives in the second half of the album may well be the most unorthodox thing doing the rounds. The alt.country hoedown of 'One Light On' (complete with a veiled Whiskeytown reference for the trainspotters out there) is hardly the smooth preface for the moody and bitter R&B of 'Meanwhile' but then again it is all about taking chances isn't it?

'Meanwhile' is the strongest and most mature song of the set. The story of a relationship that isn't on the same page, Gillespie tells her plainly: "When they ask me how things are, I'll say you don't know."

The biggest risk though is reserved for the 7 = minute opus of 'War Tomorrow'. Smacking ever so slightly of earnestness, the song's redemption is it's very modern day triptych of personal accounts regarding foreign invasion.

When you combine this all with the fact that the album was put together with out a penny thrown in from a record company, then you begin to appreciate the magnitude and effort of the record even more. Put simply, debut independent albums shouldn't sound this good.

For more information, check out www.davidgillespie.com