| Newton Faulkner Hand Built By Robots |
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Full Review | User Ratings (11) |
| Summary: Can one dreadlocked hippy create a whole new world with just a voice, a guitar and an imagination? Not yet...but it's a damn good try. |
1 of 1 thought this review was well written
He is easily distinguished by his dreadlocks and guitar work…but he’s not John Butler. He does a mean Massive Attack cover…but he’s not Jose Gonzalez. He’s a polite British singer-songwriter…but he’s not James Blunt (thank God, you must be thinking). 23-year-old Newton Faulkner is very much his own man. All the proof you need of this is present on this, his debut album. Hand Built By Robots is a joyous musical adventure, scattered with varying degrees of euphoria, ambition, optimism, desperation and loneliness. Regardless of the mood of the seventeen songs, there is a consistent warmth and an omnipresent beauty to what Faulkner is doing, plucking heartstrings with as much skill and precision as the plucking of his guitar strings.
The first thing you will notice upon listening is how much Faulkner reflects upon the ambiguous title through the music. The hand- usually associated with a gentle touch, a grip of embrace, a loving gesture. Robots- ways of the future, the notion of a whole new world, a Western fantasy that is becoming more and more of a reality as the human race progresses into a completely digital age. Hand Built by Robots? The same gentle touch one would experience from your regular modern acoustic troubadour, but set in a Flaming Lips-style future, where all is bright and life is good. The thickly-layered production, provided by Mike Spencer (Kylie Minogue, Jamiroquai) and relative newcomer Andy McKim, presents Faulkner himself front and centre of proceedings. His voice is breezy, versatile and stylish, often creating gorgeous three-part harmonies with himself. He can go from a Gary Lightbody-styled low-key whisper (“Dream Catch Me”, “UFO”) to a higher-ranged, soul-infused yawp (“She’s Got The Time” and the endearing “People Should Smile More”. Accompanying his voice is an adventurous, Graceland-meets-Pink Moon style of guitar playing. Below this, however, one will almost always discover a world of factory-like percussion, wafting flourishes of organ, synth and both acoustic and electric drum patterns. There is a lot more to Hand Built than meets the eye, making it very much the headphones record.
The breakaway hit single from the record, “Dream Catch Me”, is one of the surprise success stories of the year. How it happened is anyone’s guess, though the song is certainly an album highlight. Over a chirpy chord progression and a consistent backbeat, Faulkner muses on his escape from daily life through daydreaming, and how this is interrupted by the person he loves. His vocals are prime example of his flexibility as a singer- soulful, yet somehow still awkward and pensive. As the song fades out, a familiar lyric graces the air. “Love, love is a verb. Love is a doing word”. Massive Attack’s 1998 classic, “Teardrop”, has been given another reinterpretation. Whilst the original featured a distant, inhuman approach to its minimalist backbone, Faulkner illustrates the song with an Eastern flavour, live drums and quite possibly the best harmonies on the album. The original is not topped- this is a task no other performer of this song will ever do. Regardless, it is an exceptional cover that is certainly worth your time, particularly if you were a fan of the original.
Other shining moments are planted through the seventeen tracks, including the awe-inspired wake-up call of “To The Light”, the silly singalong fun of “Gone in the Morning” and the stark contrast to this, the low-key introspect of “Straight Towards the Sun”. The song has a Thom Yorke-like bleakness, with Faulkner sounding tired and worn out in a manner that reflects the song’s ideals of hopelessness and frustration with his personal world. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”, he sighs, before adding: “Seems all the world has gone insane”. It is a startling departure, and the contrast works masterfully amongst the other tracks.
Naturally, all is not perfect in Hand Built- with seventeen tracks, three or four of which could be deemed filler, there is a length aspect that may shun some listeners. The lyrics, too, tip occasionally over the line from quirky to plain stupid: “Gone in the Morning” sees Faulkner boast “I’m gonna master all kinds of kung-fu/I’m gonna live inside a tiny zoo”; whilst “To The Light” features the ridiculous simile of “I feel like a Muppet with a drunken puppeteer”. In the long run, minor flaws like this are ultimately easy to overlook- debut albums are rarely, if at all, a perfect work of art. For someone whose only other real musical experience was in a Green Day covers band, especially, the album is a hugely impressive feat.
Newton Faulkner’s world is one of mystery, harmony, exploration and heart. It is a retreat from your everyday, placing you in the midst of a beautiful, almost egalitarian place. At times it may seem asinine, or even a little samey. For the most part, however, Hand Made by Robots is brilliant.
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Album Rating: 3
Good review Dave. “Dream Catch Me” is simply one of those songs you have to admire as if it doesn’t win you over upon first listen, it eventually does later on. I am genuinely surprised that there are 17 tracks on the album, especially as I would think that the album could be a little “samey” with 10-12. It probably shows the man’s ambition & I wouldn’t be surprised to see him really step up his career with his next album. The guy has talent, that’s for certain. I haven’t heard the album, so can’t tell if you have over-rated it, but the review is a good one. Keep it up bud.
DaveyBoy
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Thanks man. I highly recommend listening to the record, I love it.
Digging: The Drones - Havilah | | |
Hey I didn't get to see this. Nice review.
Digging: Mr. Bungle - California
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
This is fantastic! The review was one of the best I've seen, and I absolutely love this album. I wouldn't really agree with Dream Catch Me as being one of the highlights, Uncomfortably Slow surpasses it by far I think. My 3 favourite tracks are probably Uncomfortably Slow, Teardrop and People Should Smile More, the first being so emotional, the second being beautiful beyond belief and the third can single-handedly cheer me up after even the worst days of my life.
Digging: Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel (III) | | | Album Rating: 4.5
Thanks a lot!
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
I'm a bit worried about him doing a new album, though. I just have this weird feeling that it's not gonna be as good as this, if he does the same 'million styles in one album' then it'll be slightly disappointing, and if he develops a more signature style, then he might lose some of the adventure he has on here. He definitely could make a classic, he has the talent, but I think he has to really know what he's doing.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
It's definitely going to be interesting to see where he goes from here.
On that note, anyone seen him cover Bohemian Rhapsody? Seriously one of the best covers I've ever heard.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
I didn't find this all that awesome, to be honest. There were a few great tracks, like Dream Catch Me, but too many boring ones around it. Instead of releasing 17 tracks, he should've cut out the weaker ones and kept it around a 10-11 track album.
Digging: The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree | | | Album Rating: 4
Great album. Fantastic singing voice and matches this style of music. 'Teardrops' build up to its end point is fantastic, and 'Gone In The Morning' has fantastic delivery.
| | | Album Rating: 3
I finally got around to giving this a thorough listen. As I said previously, he is definitely a talented guy and there are some very good songs on here (Dream Catch Me, All I Got & People Should Smile More especially). But this isn't totally my kind of music and when it's stetched out to such an overlong duration, it begins to get a little grating by the 13th track.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
The intro on this is friggin' nuts. Acoustic love, people.
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