Journey South

by Sharon MawerBrothers Carl and Andy Pemberton, otherwise known as Journey South, had been gigging in local pubs around the northeast of England for a few years when their big break came on the TV talent show The X Factor, where they ultimately came in third behind Shayne Ward and Andy Abraham. Journey South were likened to Simon & Garfunkel as they performed an acoustic set with close harmonies (often associated with brothers), and their eponymously titled debut album featured four tracks that they had sung on the show: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," "Let It Be," "Desperado," and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Revealing a diverse range of influences, they also covered some tracks that they did not sing on the show, including Ocean Colour Scene's "The Circle" and the Jam's "English Rose" as well as a very slow acoustic version of "Time After Time" and the Tony Rich Project's "Nobody Knows." Journey South also included two original compositions by the brothers, "All of You" and "All That I Am"; however, whether they were originals or cover versions, all the songs began to sound the same after a while -- nicely sung but without much feeling and with none of the soul that second-place Andy Abraham could provide.