Adam Faucett “Blind Water finds Blind Water”

Adam hails from Little Rock, Arkansas and it has to be said is in possession of a very fine beard… but don’t let that put you off, this is no shallow hipster. Indeed Adam has been performing as a solo artist since 2006 and in a band before that. His style on this album is said to offer a sound which is “part folk, part blues, part elemental rock stomp, part unidentifiable cosmic holler” (Arkansas Democrat Gazette).
The first thing which strikes you on opening number “Day Drinker” is Adam’s voice. It is quite distinctive as this type of Americana sound is normally accompanied by a gritty downbeat tone. Adam’s however is far clearer and much higher. The song “Melanie” is a great swaggering Americana that has a bigger and more upbeat sound then many of the songs on the album. More typical of the general style of the music is “Edgar Cayve” which is a brooding acoustic song that will surely appeal to fans of early Ryan Adams. Songs like this and “Poet Song” have a really melancholic feel to them. These tracks and others like “Opossum” are really written for late night listening and reflection. It certainly isn’t a pre going out to a party album!

There is also a folk/country feel to songs such as “Walking Home Late”. Together with songs like “Spirit man” they give a greater sense of warmth to the album than the more stark acoustic tracks. The album ends with “Rock Aint Gold” which actually sees a return to the bigger, fuller band sound. It’s a powerful song and it would actually have been good to have more numbers like this style on the album.
It’s hard not to make the obvious comparison to Ryan Adams when considering this album. That’s not to say the sound or style is just derivative. It’s just that you can imagine Adam’s fans loving this album. There is also a nagging sense that this could be the platform on which Faucett could build a big career. You can just imagine in a few years’ time many hipsters will be saying “Oh, I used to like Adam Faucett but back in his ‘Blind Water’ days” like so many do now referencing Adam’s ‘Heartbreaker’.