pop junkie

CD SINGLE REVIEW - 'FIND THE WAY' BY MOF GIMMERS
FROM POP JUNKIE JULY 17 '06

Steve Adey, quite blatantly lives in a mournful place. His lead single from his imminent LP ‘All Things Real’ sees him bottling the innate Scottishness of Alisdair Roberts or The Delgadoes and coupling it will the ethereal spooksville of Will Oldham or Lambchop. Laden with strings, warm piano and gently strummed acoustic, Adey creates a desolate but tender sound which leaves the listener breathless.

The lyrics are ambiguous, but seemingly they tell a tale of struggle between two people. Imagine a couple from the rock and roll dreams of a Bruce Spingsteen song being caught on the wrong side of the track without the US pomp of ‘The Boss’. ‘Will you take my hand? I’ll walk you there’ as opposed to a ‘Me and You versus the World Babe…’. It’s impressive stuff for a debut, which suggests that Adey isn’t playing around at the singer songwriter game.

Another cut from the ‘All Things Real’, ‘Last Remark’ finds itself on the flip, and sees Adey going further into Bonnie Prince Billy territory. His frail but certain voice glides through a fine skeletal mug of piano, brushed drums and fuzzed guitar. Also included on the single is two new recordings. The first of these is a new version of ‘Find the Way’ which may just be a nose ahead of the album version. The cello is brought higher into the field, and sees the song become even more beautifully morose. The last of the two, ‘Mississippi’, is much of the same, with stunning cello work, and an endless piano washing through the song. Stellar stuff, and definitely one to keep an eye on. (4/5)

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