Hurry and get your hands on this really super collection from the mysterious and musically iconoclastic Paul Ryan, aka Super 8. As a record T-T-T-Technicolour Melodies is defined by an acoustic sensibility but never limited to it. Instead Ryan’s acoustic guitar acts like old faithful in the background, sustaining every song, which are then adorned with all manner of ear candy: harmonica, slide guitar, cello, horns, you name it. Naming influences on this record is a potentially endless task, it is such an amazing synthesis of musical styles. In terms of tempo and feel, I hear the laid back confidence of Van Morrison in his masterful early 1970s period. Over the range of songs, you can hear a bit of the Rolling Stones, Wilco, the Velvet Underground, even the Verve here and there. But overall, the performance really reminds me of Beck on Odelay in its freewheeling, seemingly effortless pastiche of different sounds and musical motifs. And then there’s the songwriting, which is pretty impressive. This batch of tunes is mellow, soulful, and hooky. Need some uplift? Put this on while tooling around the house and feel the colour of your day change.

So what songs are the highlights? This whole record is great – there’s isn’t a bum track here. To my ear, “Last Final Cigarette” is the single with its mellow guitar hooks and subtle ear worm chorus. I love the background vocals that open “Catsuit” and the mournful harmonica and banjo that kicks off the “To Morocco” (which sounds like a great Stones acoustic number). Things rock up on the title track with some nice tempo shifts and tasty guitar work. “Just a Serenade” has a lovely lilting bounce that reminds me of vintage Wilco or acoustic Verve. The Beck influence seems particularly strong on the album opener “Tomorrow’s Just Another Day” and “Hey ! Non-Believer.” And then the whole thing wraps up with “My Sweet Baby Jane,” a track that sounds like it was pinched from a classic early 1970s country rock album by the Stones or the Byrds.

Super 8 is a major talent. Get in on the ground floor by checking out his internet real estate.