Robin James – Paper Planes review
For anyone who has even the smallest dealing with popular music and the top 40 chart you will be aware that new music of late is either a frenzy of pacy beats and obscure noises, embraced by anyone vaguely trendy and verging on the boundaries of adolescence, or for the rest of us, there is the whole new genre settling in for our markedly quieter aural enjoyment – folk pop.
It’s nothing that new of course, Laura Marling, Mumford and sons, City and Color have all been securing themselves a comfy place within the music industry with their minimalist, acoustic tunes, neither too niche nor too mainstream.
So with this being the only other real successful alternative the high chart successes t the moment, many budding musicians have moulded this genre in the hope if becoming another artist under its umbrella. London based singer songwriter Robin James is of course, no exception.
Paper Planes is his second release, and from a very brief first listen it is apparent that this man is the arty type; the lyrics sound like drug induced poetry sessions and the whole tone of the album is slow, sombre and “I’m desperately trying to sound edgy”.
However, for those who enjoy these sort of deep, poetic musings will love it, Robin James is a potentially good lyricist, his precise yet soft whisperings makes it sound more like a recital than a song , but in keeping with true original folk style.
Lyrics such as ‘Well I made friends with an Eskimo” in Good To Die are a little hard to take and produce an inkling of a smile with every listen, yet besides this the entire album is more than a little depressing; with the talk of struggling humanity and almost constant use of the words death and die. All in all it soon becomes a little tedious.
Yet musically, the album is rather satisfying, the piece itself was created using all vintage equipment, a feat worthwhile of some appreciation if nothing else. With his second album Robin James has involved some other elements, string sounds and accordion can be heard throughout the ten tracks, which set the tone excellently.
For the most part it is clear what this man is trying to create, something that reflects him, his feeling, beliefs, emotions and this album succeeds in doing that. But for everyone else listening in, it can be a hard and unfortunately sometimes difficult listen. For his musicianship and uniqueness this album deserves at least one listen, if only to realise that, compared to this, your own life isn’t that depressing after all.
Review published on Southsonic website:
http://www.southsonic.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1471&Itemid=73
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