Kirsten Adamson Landing Place Album Review 7th February 2023
Kirsten Adamson has her second album Landing Place available from 3rd February, and this 11 track, album (on Last Days Records) is available on CD, Vinyl and Digital formats. Kirsten Adamson, the daughter of Scottish music star Stuart Adamson (Big Country/Skids) has literally grown up around music, it has always been there for her, and this album with a diverse range of tempos and styles to its songs reflects that immersive musical upbringing. This album has also been produced by Dean Owens, one of Scotland’s best contemporary singer/songwriters.
By default, any album like this one that essentially showcases the diversity of a singer/songwriter’s work this early in their recording career is often just that, a showcase, and gives little glimpses of just what is possible in future years if some musical strands are explored more. This album is no exception to this format, but perhaps what gives the album more of an edge is the far larger body of live performance work and song writing. Also, Kirsten’s voice seems naturally suited to the Country/Americana sound, and time spent living in Nashville in the late 1990s has obviously helped hone that sound and her writing skills over the coming years.
The unifying factor for all of the songs on Landing Place is that they were written during Covid lockdown times and, like many of us, Kirsten found that the unexpected removal of many of the friends and family that we took for granted that we would meet and share our lives with was a difficult period for her, and like many of us, when the outside world was now closed off to us, this led to an inward journey of discovery. The end result here is an at times very personal set of songs that examine many different aspects of her life, and which many of us can relate to in one way or another. For many of us, including Kirsten, this period of nature and the natural world getting at least a momentary respite from the relentless intrusion and destructive influence of mankind asked questions of just what are we doing to this planet, all species that share it with us, and our global negative impact upon the environment. The song “I Will Sign” is a response to some of the many issues that these questions raise.
Ultimately though, many of the songs on this album are about personal relationships with family and friends, and “My Father’s Songs” (co-written With Dean Owens) is one such song. The title and the words of the song have an obvious connection with Kirsten and her late father, Stuart Adamson, and many of us can relate to losing a parent, and no matter how early or late in life that happens to you, it often makes you re-appraise not only their life, but your own. Here though, songs are very important, and we often forget just how important they can be to who a person is (or was) in their life. Songs can so often express words and emotions that we somehow find difficult to put into our own words, or all too often even speak out aloud to anyone and they can be clues to our inner soul. Songs can also say who we are and where we came from, often opening insights when others discover them and sing them for themselves.
Separation from loved ones, friends, either enforced or for other reasons is also a theme of Kirsten’s song writing here and “No Other Mother” is exactly what the title indicates, a daughter missing human contact with her mother.
Whatever your musical preferences are, there is a chance that on a varied album like “Landing Place” you will find at least one song that you like a little bit more than others and “What Happens When You Don't Follow Your Heart” is that song for me here. A song perhaps of sadness, but more than that a song of “what if”, and many of us can relate to that feeling and that thought for one reason or another.
Kirsten Adamson has a voice that can, as this album proves, adapt to many different musical styles and one day it would be interesting to hear her voice on an album of songs that was stripped back to the basic essentials of mostly her voice and an acoustic guitar.
TRACK LISTING
1 No Other Mother
2 My Father's Songs
3 Stars On The South Coast
4 Coals And Ashes
5 I Will Sign
6 Up And Down
7 Time With You
8They Deserve Better
9 Useless At Being Alone
10 What Happens When You Don't Follow Your Hear
11Without Warning
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
By default, any album like this one that essentially showcases the diversity of a singer/songwriter’s work this early in their recording career is often just that, a showcase, and gives little glimpses of just what is possible in future years if some musical strands are explored more. This album is no exception to this format, but perhaps what gives the album more of an edge is the far larger body of live performance work and song writing. Also, Kirsten’s voice seems naturally suited to the Country/Americana sound, and time spent living in Nashville in the late 1990s has obviously helped hone that sound and her writing skills over the coming years.
The unifying factor for all of the songs on Landing Place is that they were written during Covid lockdown times and, like many of us, Kirsten found that the unexpected removal of many of the friends and family that we took for granted that we would meet and share our lives with was a difficult period for her, and like many of us, when the outside world was now closed off to us, this led to an inward journey of discovery. The end result here is an at times very personal set of songs that examine many different aspects of her life, and which many of us can relate to in one way or another. For many of us, including Kirsten, this period of nature and the natural world getting at least a momentary respite from the relentless intrusion and destructive influence of mankind asked questions of just what are we doing to this planet, all species that share it with us, and our global negative impact upon the environment. The song “I Will Sign” is a response to some of the many issues that these questions raise.
Ultimately though, many of the songs on this album are about personal relationships with family and friends, and “My Father’s Songs” (co-written With Dean Owens) is one such song. The title and the words of the song have an obvious connection with Kirsten and her late father, Stuart Adamson, and many of us can relate to losing a parent, and no matter how early or late in life that happens to you, it often makes you re-appraise not only their life, but your own. Here though, songs are very important, and we often forget just how important they can be to who a person is (or was) in their life. Songs can so often express words and emotions that we somehow find difficult to put into our own words, or all too often even speak out aloud to anyone and they can be clues to our inner soul. Songs can also say who we are and where we came from, often opening insights when others discover them and sing them for themselves.
Separation from loved ones, friends, either enforced or for other reasons is also a theme of Kirsten’s song writing here and “No Other Mother” is exactly what the title indicates, a daughter missing human contact with her mother.
Whatever your musical preferences are, there is a chance that on a varied album like “Landing Place” you will find at least one song that you like a little bit more than others and “What Happens When You Don't Follow Your Heart” is that song for me here. A song perhaps of sadness, but more than that a song of “what if”, and many of us can relate to that feeling and that thought for one reason or another.
Kirsten Adamson has a voice that can, as this album proves, adapt to many different musical styles and one day it would be interesting to hear her voice on an album of songs that was stripped back to the basic essentials of mostly her voice and an acoustic guitar.
TRACK LISTING
1 No Other Mother
2 My Father's Songs
3 Stars On The South Coast
4 Coals And Ashes
5 I Will Sign
6 Up And Down
7 Time With You
8They Deserve Better
9 Useless At Being Alone
10 What Happens When You Don't Follow Your Hear
11Without Warning
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com