THERE are few 17-year-olds who can say they have written and recorded a full-length album, but then there's nothing really typical about Joseph Hewer.

The Alloa youngster recently unveiled a reflective 13-track album – Brigands, Thieves and Romantics – having spent the best part of a year working away on material. Indeed, some songs go back even further, with the genesis of a few tracks rooted in 2017.

Though it was an intense project for Hewer, it was never his intention to become a recording artist. His musical journey has been a little unconventional, having picked up the guitar on a "whim".

He cites influences such as Bob Dylan and Elliot Smith, with the latter evident in his work. But he never envisaged himself as a singer-songwriter, even as his musicianship developed.

"I fell backwards into it," he tells The Weekender. "It was something I just started doing and one thing led to another.

"I started writing songs when I was about 14. I wasn't very good at first, but I kept it up. I did an EP first, but it was awful so I've deleted all trace of that."

One of the songs on there goes all the way back to when I was 14 – I was constantly re-writing the lyrics and making changes."

When he found he had a handful of songs, he decided to take a stab at self-recording. Some were captured using equipment at school, with others through a day session with a four-track at The Tolbooth. But he also made use of home recording for the rest, by taking over his dad's office which sits in his garden.

Hewer adds: "I started recording in there during the day but as it evolved I found myself out there for some really late nights. I found that that was the time when all the birds would just shut up and I could record. I did enjoy that time, though, early last year.

"Recording was easier than the writing; putting the songs together took a long time. One of the songs on there goes all the way back to when I was 14 – I was constantly re-writing the lyrics and making changes."

While Hewer looks back on the creative output with some pride, the writing process had certainly thrown up its share of challenges. On the other, there were definitely some moments of inspiration where the words and music would flow freely for the budding musician, or in the very least the answer wasn't too far away.

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He says: "I heard the term recently: A sneeze. Where a song comes out all at once. I had, maybe, one song like that.

"But others took ages, like a verse every couple of months. And the rest sort of in between.

"The ones I like best are those which either came along all at once or those that took the longest.

"Danns Nollaig took so long and it's probably my favourite – it was very detailed; I put a lot into it. I went through a few different verses that were scrapped. That's definitely one I can be proud of.

"I am a bit of a perfectionist," he adds. "I can hear all the little things on the recording that I couldn't fix."

Guitar music was a bit of a departure for Hewer who started out playing the fiddle for seven years or so. He then taught himself how to play the piano, which has been his main instrument recently.

At the moment he is unsure about whether to write and record a follow-up. Hewer is in his last few months of high school with university on the cards after the summer.

Brigands, Thieves and Romantics also features the vocal talents of friend Sophie Dickson for the track 11.30, School Night. Indeed, the two have performed together – a format that Hewer would prefer to playing full-band. The thought of turning the project into a touring act is not one which grabs him from the outset.

He said: "I wouldn't mind being in a band; I'd prefer to play piano and give the guitar to someone else. If it were a band, I would look at something in the alt-rock. I don't mind shouting [when singing]. I mean, not like metal shouting, but just a bit."

Listen to Brigands, Thieves and Romantics on Spotify.