Steve Adey -‘The Tower Of Silence’ (Grand Harmonium)

Following on from last year’s rather fine These Resurrections EP, Edinburgh-based Steve Adey delivers his sophomore album. Six years since his debut All Things Real, this beautiful collection of work has been worth the wait.

The outstanding cut from the EP ‘Just Wait Til I Get You Home’ reappears here, but there’s an entire album of beautiful songs, like his cover of Alasdair Roberts’ ‘Farewell Sorrow’ and ‘Laughing’ which hang together most perfectly. What Steve plugs into is a particuarly scottish sense of melancholia (see also: eagleowl, Mogwai and The Blue Nile, amongst others) that – to paraphrase Wilco -is trying to break your heart, and does it in the most beautiful way.

While some records can be overwhelming and ultimately isolating in their melancholy (see the most recent album from Breathless) this is one that connects with the listener right from the off. Yes, you may want to cry on hearing this (and if it doesn’t have that effect, your humanity should surely be called into question), but you’ll find it a beautiful experience.

****1/2

The Tower Of Silence is released on November 26 on Grand Harmonium.

NOTE: an interview with Steve Adey will appear on 17 Seconds very shortly.

Steve Adey -‘These Resurrections’ EP (Grand Harmonium)

Regular readers will know that I have reached moments of complete singer-songwriter saturation on this blog at times over the last year.

So it is a delight to be able to report that the These Resurrections EP by Steve Adey (an Edinburgh based artist, no less) is something that goes against the grain of David Gray wannabes, and instead shows that fragile does not need to mean wimpy, and acoustic does not mean half-assed. he will be releasing a new LP later on this year, but for now, this EP is a gorgeous treat.

The subtlety of Talk Talk circa Spirit Of Eden and the haunted beauty of The Blue Nile circa Hats hang over this five track EP, worth it for closing track ‘Just Wait Til I Get You Home’ alone. I know next to nothing about Steve Adey at this moment in time. I ahve taken this at fac value and been very warmly blown away.

Search it out. That is all I want to say.

****1/2

These Resurrections is out now on Grand Harmonium

Stream the tracks below.

Tomorrow (voice) by Steve Adey

Infidel (short version) by Steve Adey

Soundtrack /One by Steve Adey

These Resurrections by Steve Adey

Just Wait Till I Get You Home by Steve Adey