The first time you hear Starsailor, it's a devastating experience. Their songs have a directness and melodic power that belies their youthfulness. The impact of their music is as bruising as hearing Nirvana for the first time - just stripped of the volume. Among their first batch of songs are tales of love, hope and redemption given focus by James Walsh's acrobatic vocals that combine naivety with a shattered worldliness reminiscent of an early '70s Neil Young.

A four-piece from Britain's North-West (Chorley, to be precise) and named after an LP by the wondrous Tim Buckley, Starsailor are centred around the extraordinary songwriting talent of the 20 year old Walsh. At a time when it's become a cliche to be termed a post-Buckley band of any sort, they're set to make all such comparisons irrelevant. They've gone right back to the original source and matched it with at least a dozen songs of raw, emotional clarity. "About two years ago, I remember reading an interview with some band who admitted that Jeff Buckley was an influence," recalls Walsh, "so I just went out and bought his album and I realised it was miles better than anything else I'd been listening to. From there, I started listening to Tim Buckley, Neil Young and Van Morrison, it just opened doors. Our music isn't really about him, he was just a catalyst. When I heard him I found someone who genuinely touched me - and I knew that's what I wanted to do."

For Walsh, it was an ephipany that was long overdue. A music obsessive and something of a loner, he had grown up feeling disconnected from the more overtly male posturing of his school friends and immediate social group. He was always searching for something 'more'. "At school, I was considered a bit of a misfit," he confides. "People thought I was too sensitive, but I was just questioning things. There was a cynicism running through everyone else that I never really seemed to have, and that I still don't."

As an outlet for his feelings, he started playing piano at the age of 12, and was writing songs by 14 - all the time avidly absorbing everything he could from the music press. It wasn't until he arrived at music college in Wigan, though, and met up with James Stelfox (bass) and Ben Byrne (drums) that his songs finally gained shape and focus - and after a series of ill-fated and heavily guitar-orientated line-ups, he finally arrived at a sound he was happy with. "I just wanted to do something that was really natural and says something about who you are and how you're feeling rather than just making a noise. Some people go down the pub and get drunk, some people write books, this is just the best way I have of expressing myself."

The final piece of the Starsailor jigsaw was the arrival of keyboardist Barry Westhead at the start of 2000. With a more restrained sound and a clear vision of where they were heading, it was to signal the start of a meteoric rise. Starsailor played their first gig at London's Heavenly Social in April. By the time, they returned at the beginning of July - a few days after Glastonbury - record companies had already began to gather at their door. That night their gig was seen by a passing NME journalist, who was moved to post a glowing review in the following week's paper. It was a chance occurrence that just hastened the whole process. Within three months, the band had signed to EMI. "We didn't want to be lumped into some indie acoustic guitar scene," explains Walsh, "so that's why we chose EMI, because they haven't got anything that sounds like us at all. We've always been outside things, we've never hung around in London or with other bands. Being in Wigan or Warrington keeps you pretty well isolated from everything."

Like, say, The Verve before them, it's this isolation that's allowed them the freedom to develop into something unique. That - and the fact that they're driven by a fierce determination. "People always used to say things to me like, 'Get a proper job'," says Walsh, "but even when Starsailor didn't sound too good, I always knew that singing was what I did best. I didn't see why I should do something that I couldn't do as well."

Such faith in his own abilities was well justified. At the moment, Starsailor's ascent shows no signs of abating. Currently in the studio recording an EP scheduled for release in February 2001, they're also preparing for their first major nationwide tour as part of the NME Brats tour that starts at the end of January. As an indication of the esteem in which they're held, they're the first band who haven't yet released a record to be offered such a slot. Not that they're nervous, far from it. "When you're nervous about what you're doing, you're more likely to be big-headed and arrogant because you're a bit mixed-up," reasons Walsh. "When you know what you're doing and you know you enjoy doing it anyway, you can just get on with it whether people like it or not. I think that's the thing people appreciate about us."

It's not, however, the only thing. Starsailor are the first major stars of the new millennium. You should make sure you see them as soon as possible.