I just stumbled upon this lovely review on http://www.record-play.net and thought i might post it in full here…
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What this music undoubtedly has is life, and a firm grounding in the everyday. From bounce to melancholy we can hear Robin’s enthusiasm: his instrumentals are tight and expressive, his voice soothing and familiar. Mainly this is music to listen to for a celebration of the simple, good things going on in life. And if by some sad chance there aren’t any, then it might help a little on the road to recovery. It is certainly not damning with faint praise to call this offering well-meaning – what higher accolade could there be, if you think about it? And not just well-meaning: well-crafted and well-delivered too.
There is a kind of a theme among new contemporary folk musicians who think, and we have reviewed quite a number of them recently. Living in the same times as them must help a little, since we get the little references. For those of us living in London, we’ll maybe get a few more from Hackney-dwelling Robin Grey’s songs than most. I have never heard Amhurst Road mentioned in a folk track before, but for those of you further afield, don’t feel too despondent, because you’re invited to the party too.
As the tea and cake loving Grey plays out and about, teaches others what he knows and prepares to release a follow-on to last year’s excellent ‘Only the Missile’ LP, we have lots to look forward to. Grey has released his first album, as well as the EP ‘I Love Leonard Cohen’ which preceded it, under a creative commons licence in a brave and probably very sensible move. If you didn’t know, this allows anyone to share and remix his songs free, so long as it isn’t for commercial gain or without attribution. It is an interesting choice, and probably truer to the original nature of folk music dissemination than any other model.
Today, from his EP, ‘Shakes And Shudders’ is a beautiful tune for a bright grey morning, as we slowly awake to the week, this is just the thing to help us on our way.