So many people are so busy trying to create a new sound for the future that they often forget to take stock of the past. Of course, the art of it is to mine the past for influence and inspiration and use those sounds to create a sonic vision of the future – make something fresh out of the already familiar. Evolution rather than revolution. And that is precisely what we find Andy Hanson doing on this, his debut album.
And so, Roots is the sound of 60’s folk artists and 70’s singer-songwriters being referenced while putting his modern spin on sonic storytelling.
If Roots is musically deft, it is also lyrically deep. The songs are embued with an honesty and authenticity that only comes from his willingness to face the truth—the truth of his own experiences, the truths of the world around us, the truths of the human condition—as hard and revelatory as they might be.
“Rose Blossoms” is delicately Dylan-esque, “Takes One To Know One” is brilliantly poetic, and “Breath of Life” goes to that understated place where we find Ryan Adams finest moments.
Finding something new to do with the singer-songwriter sound is often challenging; it’s a genre firmly established now. What Andy Hanson proves is that the form isn’t broken; it doesn’t need fixing. It is enough just to do it more elegantly, eloquently, and honestly than everyone else, poignantly and with more purpose, which is precisely what we find him doing here.
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