UNCUT

ALBUM REVIEW - 'ALL THINGS REAL' BY ROB HUGHES
FROM UNCUT MAY '06

Birmingham-born but based in Edinburgh, Adey's pained debut has been in the works since 2003. By turns chilly and intimate, he's clearly in thrall to the folk fatalism of Will "Bonnie Prince Billy" Oldham (as is underscored by a cover of "I See A Darkness") along with Dylan (a slow-slow "Shelter From The Storm") and the knotty American pre-war minstrels that inspired him. Engineer on records by the likes of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Adey's layered approach adds unexpected shading to these often bleak songs - harmonium, parish bells, a splash of Steinway in an old church. A promising start. 3/5

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