Adam Ross, de facto leader of the band Randolph’s Leap and solo artist with another moniker, has released his first solo album.
Resident in the Highlands of Scotland, he gives us 12 tracks of quite personal folk music.
Opener ‘The Quiet Joy of Parenthood’ is typical of the collection, somewhat disarming as a love song which includes “not having kids with you” – it is witty, fresh and honest, and for those of us who do have kids, well we can certainly relate to it! Lol etc…
Several songs, mainly guitar-led, very effectively use the fiddle as a backing instrument, so for example ‘Liar’ has some subtle but incredible fiddle work… (from whom BM is not quite sure but it is great) – the track is a parody or self-deprecating song, depending on how you look at it – bumming himself up with various stupid boasts to win over someone, or other – quite sad really, but then it is only a piss take….”paradigm” indeed, get over yourself…!
Others such as ‘Cairngorm’ are also heavy on the fiddle, although maybe not having quite have the same impact as those previously mentioned – but track 4 has some commentary about changing times, while ‘Under the Radar’ is more introspective, about escaping from all this shit into the wild, something that many people can relate to…
‘The Swell’ has some great guitar chords and is very emotional….
The final few tunes are also very good – ‘Sanna’ has more rural musings and lots of great guitar and fiddle, ‘Alice and Christine’ may be about some of AR’s neighbours or old friends – witty and cutting at the same time, maybe a take on small town prejudices… and ‘Asphalt’ again recalls past memories…
Closer When the Music Ends’ is a tribute to live musicians everywhere, possibly accentuated by Covid – it is a lament for the vagaries of touring, BM thinks, but she could be wrong…
Adam Ross is a raw and mercurial talent, whether solo or with the full RL band, and this is a glorious set of tracks/songs – he is doing shows this year, you will not be disappointed if you go see him…