Newton Faulkner

NEWTON FAULKNER
"HAND BUILT BY ROBOTS"
(Columbia, 2008)


"All I Got"


I wish I knew what song clip I had listened to a few months back that made me think I wouldn't like this CD, because I'll be damned if I know what it is now. I'm just glad I decided to give this album a second chance, 'cause now there isn't a song on here that I dislike. UK singer-songwriter Newton Faulkner delivers an album that's as whimsical, enjoyable, and hard to categorize as the cover image would suggest.

He is entirely adept at delivering Jason Mraz-ish quasi-rap folk-funk-jazz ("Gone In The Morning", "To The Light"), affecting balladry ("Uncomfortably Slow", "Straight Towards The Sun"), and breezy, wistful pop ("Ageing Superhero", "I Need Something", "People Should Smile More"). Throw in a seemingly random track here and there (a cover of the Massive Attack song "Teardrop", and the acoustic southern-style ditty "She's Got The Time") and you have one of the more enjoyable albums to come along in some time.

Newton Faulkner's voice is a bit gravelly and "earthy", but for some reason it doesn't sound the least bit out-of-place on an album of more lightweight material like this. If you're one of those people who think that "singer-songwriter" equals "boring", this CD is all the proof you need to the contrary.