Description
Making this record was a joy, says Steven Adams of his latest album with his band the French Drops. This time I kept saying to myself keep it light whenever I was making decisions. The buoyant and relaxed mood can be heard across the album in its gloriously skipping tones, as it traverses across indie, pop, alt-rock and more tender acoustic and folk-leaning moments. Its a craft that Adams has been honing for years as the lead figure in outfits such as The Broken Family Band and Singing Adams. The feelings of serenity and solace he experienced whilst writing the songs themselves carried over into the final product. I wanted to make a super personal, light-hearted and upbeat record, he says. I wanted to do the whole write about what you know thing and keep it as light as possible. The lightness of the album was a guiding principle but it wasnt a rule set in stone, as Adams soon found out the deeper he plunged into himself. We had a running joke about how we were making an album called Keep it Light that is full of songs about racists and panic attacks and existential angst, he says. But it does you good to get that stuff out. Writing songs and making records keeps me sane. Im usually sick of a record by the time its mixed and I dont get much of a kick out of hearing my own stuff, but this ones different, he says. I know I sound like a wanker saying this but this is the best record Ive ever made.
The album is one as full of joy and beauty as it is ink black humour and caustic revelation. On the gorgeous shuffle of Oh Dear - recalling the kind of stripped back beauty of Yo La Tengo at their finest - Adams sings: and true love will not find you in the end. A knowing nod and a wink to Daniel Johnstons earnest refrain that indeed true love will find you in the end. Its such moments that fill the album with equal parts weight and lightness, a smart touch delivered with a deft hand. Of the broad range of the album and its wide-spanning lyrical content Adams simply says: the upbeat stuff is pretty upbeat and the darker stuff is pretty dark, but its all still with some humour. Perhaps the song that best encapsulates this split between the light and the dark and the funny and the personal is My Brother, the Racist a self explanatory song that skips along with an infectious groove as Adams sings about, well, his racist brother. It unfurls in an intimate manner that recalls the kind of deeply personal allure of Sun Kill Moons Benji. Its an awkward thing to sing about, but it was the right thing to do, he reflects. Ive written about British racism before, but never this close to home. Recorded at Soup by Simon Trought and with band members Laurie Earle, Daniel Fordham, David Stewart and Michael Wood, this is the first time Adams has worked in such a harmonious and in sync way. This is the first record Ive made with the band all playing in one room, getting everything down at once, he says. We played live wit
A1) Soft Landings A2) Bring on the Naps A3) Canary A4) Gracechurch St A5) Oh Dear B1) Going to Everglades B2) Note to Self B3) My Brother, The Racist B4) Jonny B5) Mr Sunshine
- Format Detail: LP [w/ download card] LYRICS INSERT
- Internal ID: JITRE
- Handling Note: **Please allow an additional 72 hours for this item's shipment.**
- Format: Vinyl
- Genre: Rock
- Released: 2/12/21