Damien Leith first came to prominence as the winner of the fourth series of #Australian Idol in 2006, but in a break with past winners of that show, he did not immediately rush into the studio for a quickly slapped together album consisting largely of outside material and covers, instead demanding that he be given time to record a proper album. (As a result, Leith's debut album, The Winner's Journey, consisted of both sides of his debut single, including the #Idol finale song Night of My Life, plus most of his performances from the show itself, including a standout take on the Split Enz single Message to My Girl.) Released in 2007, Where We Land is Leith's bow as a serious recording artist, and it's easily a step above most of the post-#Idol debut albums around the world, faint praise though that may be. Comparisons to another Irish-born acoustic singer/songwriter called Damien are perhaps inevitable -- Leith's audition song for the series, in fact, was Damien Rice's The Blower's Daughter -- and while Leith is a less subtle singer, even going so far as to record that tired piece of faux-Irish claptrap Danny Boy, he's not at all shamed in the comparison. A solid vocalist with a killer falsetto and an adequate songwriter in the mold of Rice, Paolo Nutini, or James Blunt, Leith is well served by the warm and not super-slick production and mellow acoustic-based arrangements. Where We Land is hardly a great album, but it's better than one might reasonably expect from a winner of one of the #Pop Idol spinoffs, and fans of the new breed of sensitive folkie guys will appreciate tunes like the polished pure pop single All I Want Is You and a graceful take on Canadian singer/songwriter Andy Stochansky's 22 Steps. ~ Stewart Mason, Rovi

1		22 Steps
2		All I Want Is You
3		Beautiful
4		Shine Like The Sun
5		I Still Miss Us
6		The Long Way Back
7		Not Just For The Weekend
8		Songbird
9		Blew It All Away
10		Alone
11		Cold Cold Heart
12		Danny Boy

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