The time has finally come-My debut album,‘Boy Cries Wolf’, is released today. Exciting isn’t it? You can now purchase the album frombandcamp(www.garystewart.bandcamp.com),i-tunes and all other major online download stores. ‘Boy Cries Wolf’ has already started to garner some rave reviews;

From The Yorkshire Evening Post;

****Gary Stewart is a Leeds-based Scot who,when he’s not drumming with local indie pop stalwarts Hope&Social(formerly Four Day Hombre),does a fine line in the sort of breezy acoustic folk pop that will surely find favour with fans of Mumford and Sons. 
Although not quite as rumbustuous,Stewart has the same way with bold,graceful melodies and invigorating arrangements as the chart stars. Without wanting to come across all Simon Cowell,Stewart’s voice won’t be to everyone’s tastes,sounding like an unburnished,slightly nasal version of Paul Simon,but what no one will be able to take issue with,however,is the gentle beauty of the music.
Standout moments on this hugely enjoyable album are the energetic finger-picking ofJekyll and Hyde,the catchy vocal harmonies of Take Me Down,and the subtly delivered protest song Merrygoround. The distinctive,husky tones of Ellen Smith of Leeds country act Ellen and the Escapades make a welcome appearance on the song Behind The Door too.

Martin Ross

From The Leeds Scenester;

‘Folk is back it seems, in rather a big way. This recent resurgence of Folk into the mainstream was fairly sudden, with the likes of Noah and the Whale at the forefront last summer. This baton being taken up this year by the phenomenon of Mumford and Sons - those four, farming-gentlemen-looking, weirdo’s with the platinum selling album and major bookings at just about every major festival this year. Good time to be a folk artist perhaps?

And as it transpires, here comes another. Gary Stewart’s debut album will be released come September 13th and once again it seems the folk scene has uncovered another gem. However this isn’t just a ‘let’s hang onto Mr Mumford’s coat tails’ record, this isn’t one that will have every festival-going scenester dancing in their Wellington boots and huge sunglasses because they heard a song that they quite liked on T4. This is a much more measured approach, more for appreciators of classic folk than for the prostitutes of the folk new wave. This is not to say, however that it’s appeal is so restrictive and niche that only people with huge collections of Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell records will be able to enjoy it. This is still a collection of pop-songs, and a damn fine one at that.
The album kicks off with the truly wonderful ‘Travelling Song’, a song full of acoustic guitars, modest strings and Celtic influence, which really indicates what this album is about and paves the way perfectly for what is to come. ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ and ‘Take me down’ retain the pop sensibilities of the first track until ‘Behind The Door’ slows things right down. Minimal instrumentation and a wonderful, Nico-esque, female vocal adorn this track, again, keeping the Celtic vibes intact. This story continues.
I could go on listing the gems to be found on this record but that would only equate to a track listing and would rather ruin the fun of listening to it for yourself. Regardless of whether you’re into the genre or not this is a guaranteed worthwhile listen. Every track is imbued with the same warm, inviting vibes but each still manages to stand out from one another. For me this record was a welcome change from my usual routine of late, consisting of large doses of The Cure, Siouxsie & The Banshees, She Wants Revenge, The Smiths and Sleigh Bells, stuff that, amazing as it may be, does tend to get the best of you at points. Upon hearing ‘Boy Cries Wolf’ it was as though all my made-up troubles, brought on by the aforementioned list of Goths, just fell away. This record is a fresh take on classic folk, a fine example of musicianship and a collection of great pop songs but if nothing else, it just makes you happy.’

Lee Morris

From Northern Sky;

Gary Stewart has become very much part of the Leeds music scene over the last few years, working in a variety of outfits such as Hope and Social and the Rosie Doonan Band, equally at home occupying the drummer’s seat as he is assuming the role of second guitarist. Whilst maintaining a shadowy background figure in these and other outfits, the young Perthshire-born Scot, now re-located to Leeds, has built up a small repertoire of self-penned songs, some of which have finally surfaced on this his debut album, after a year in the making. Helped along the way by a small group of collaborators, the singer-songwriter has come up with ten acoustic-based songs that have brought him out from behind the drum kit and into the spotlight.   With a distinctively raw voice and rhythmic guitar style, Gary has focused on the bright and breezy, the cheerful and chirpy, rather than the dark and dirgy, with a handful of radio-friendly melodies, whilst at the same time maintaining some measure of depth in his lyrics. Travelling Song is a perfectly good toe-tapping opener, with an optimistic message; a sort of when all else fails, let’s look at the options sort of song. Whilst endeavouring to leave the ‘black and grey’ behind, Gary continues to ponder the darker themes in his lyrics, with both the fictional Jekyll and Hyde, or the very real Burke and Hare popping up in places.Behind the Dooris probably the stand out song for at least two good reasons; firstly, the song bears no resemblance to anything else on the album, incorporating a distinctly Iberian or Spanish feel, which is somewhat at odds with the dark lyrical content and secondly due to Ellen Smith’s (Ellen and the Escapades)perfectly complementary and haunting vocal duet; a sort of Lisa Hannigan to Gary’s Damien Rice. With Nathan Camponi’s video promo already filmed and in the bag, it seems likely that this song will initially represent the album promotionally and stands every chance of kick-starting some potential excitement, which the album thoroughly deserves. If the song is deemed too ‘un-commercial’ by its author for a single release, then he need look no further than Maggie Oh for a hot favourite second choice, with its uplifting and engaging rhythmic backdrop.  With Gary’s current involvement in both the Rosie Doonan Band and the Snapdragons, it was almost a given that Rosie would be included on BOY CRIES WOLF somewhere and here the singer provides some suitably delicate background vocals on In the Pines, not to be confused with the traditional folk song of the same name. Co-produced by Gary and Rich Stephenson and helped along by a handful of local musicians including Wilful Missing’s Sam Lawrence, India Patel, Lovesick Cowboys’ Martyn Roper and Adam Legend on double bass, the ten songs make up a cohesive acoustic whole, so much so that the out of kilter title song was left off the finished album due to its contrasting style. With a command over writing memorable chorus songs, such as Liar Liarand In the Pines, Gary makes each song accessible and user friendly and finally shrugs off the blues with the delightfully optimistic Bucket of Stars, which closes this impressive debut.

 Allan Wilkinson

The official launch for the album release is this thursday 16th September at the Brudenell Social Club on Queens Road in Hyde Park,Leeds. Tickets are £6 and£10(with a copy of the album). Doors are at 7.30pm and support comes from Rosie Doonan and Hope&Social. 
That’s all for now…
Cheers!
Gary

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