I disagree.

You know how to write a song

-Not with this part, this part you have spot on.

your instrumentation is severely lacking.

-It's intentionally a guitar and a voice. He's sharing songs at their most basic. At which point, it's about structure, emotion and lyrical content -all three things I think he has in spades. Could he add instrumentation? Of course. There could be strings, horns, guitar picking galore, but that's a completely different project. It could be that he ends up going down that road with these songs and I'd gladly listen to that project too but there is virtue in how he's presented these tracks. As someone that often takes simple songs and adds too much to them, I respect his restraint and in his restraint, his courage to present these songs, bare and vulnerably.

there's nothing really setting you apart from the other million white guys with an acoustic guitar

-Couldn't disagree more. I have heard a lot of the music you describe, enough to understand the disdain that the categorization holds. His lyrics are tight, he conveys them with a sincerity that most do not and the songs are well structured. Millions? Nope. Others? Sure, this isn't Dylan, but it's good, especially for a first effort. I'm impressed.

To each their own I suppose.