Website [Release date 09.11.25]

Ok, lets tackle the elephant in the room – this could be Nick Drake’s fourth album. And I say that with the utmost respect and admiration.

From the phrasing to the melodies the guitar tone and style to the backing arrangements it’s just uncanny. But Robin does come from folk royalty with his mum and dad being the driving force behind String Driven Thing, so I would imagine he was reared on a diet of Nick Drake, John Martyn, Fairport Convention etc; But that doesn’t mean you are going to sound like any of them as you mature to adult hood. This isn’t his first album, and I haven’t heard any of his others – allegedly one of them is in Americana style, so maybe he captures a different style with each album, I don’t know but I do know this one just drew me in from the offset. He has a fan in Ricky Ross of Deacon Blue and DJ on BBC Radio Scotland. He says of Adams – “ he draws you into his music, and once you’re in you’ll never want to leave”, and I wholeheartedly agree.

The songs on the album were written some time ago, when Robin was in a dark place after a chronic illness debilitated him for four years, leaving him housebound. Just as he was recovering his father passed. And if that doesn’t make you write in an intense and melancholy way then I don’t know what would.

Adams demo’d these songs on Bandcamp as a limited edition in 2018 with just his voice and an acoustic guitar, then started evolving them as he played them live, then playing them with a group of trusted musician friends who all did this as a labour of love. The musicians are – Julliette Lemoine -Cello, David Bowden Bass, Stephen Henderson and Alex Palmer drums, Emma Pantel Bowden – violin, Rachel Clemente – harp, Dan Brown piano and clarinet, Campbell Drummond Sax, Ross Taylor Harmonium, and Iona Zajac on backing vocals. And what a bunch of musicians they are, very sympathetic and intuitive to these songs.

There are nine tracks on this album, and even though I mentioned Nick Drake, it is also a collection of very original songs, and not written for commercial gain I would say. He wrote these songs because he had no choice is my guess, growing from the from the gut, and gushing into reality as heartfelt emotive songs.

I had a hard time with track 6, In The Darkness, I found it hard to listen to at first, but because of that it made me take notice of the whole thing. I like music which is not immediate. I find it makes you put more effort into exploring what the artist is trying to get across, without instant gratification. I played it many times knowing I would come to love it, and I do, and it’s now my favourite track on the album. The rest I couldn’t put into any order of preference, I just know I am taken by surprise every time it finishes as I could easily listen to a few more.

This album is released November 9the on Hamework Records, meanwhile I’m going to check his back catalogue. ****

Review by Andy Sharrocks

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