Newton Faulkner - Human Love
- Written by Marky Edison
Newton Faulkner first came to light with Hand Built By Robots in 2007, and a couple of singles including a cover of Massive Attack's ‘Teardrop’ that proved popular. That album went double platinum.
Four albums later, he is still a big draw on the live circuit even if the music has not progressed massively. He has established a sizable fanbase and each album has made the UK top 10.
He writes his songs on an acoustic guitar, using loop pedals and percussive playing like Ed Sheeran and KT Tunstall. Though the songs are more similar to Tunstall’s style than Sheeran’s.
He is too much like a James Arthur type of songwriter to be cool and too alternative to be a pop star. There’s a strong Peter Gabriel influence underscoring the world music rhythms and harmonies in his music.
Last year's Studio Zoo was an album length experiment. He broadcast the entire recording session via webcam and even took advice from fans on what to do with the tracks. Human Love is more conventional and is a better album overall.
It kicks off with a cover of Major Lazer’s ‘Get Free’. It’s a faithful cover but the different instrumentation and approach make it a worthwhile version and one of the highlights of the album.
The accompanying video features Faulkner sitting on a chair under a spotlight in a darkened room cutting off his dreadlocks with a pair of scissors. Hopefully they got it in one take.
The album then threatens to drift into generic singer-songwriter territory but is suddenly saved by ‘Stay And Take’. This is a duet with Tessa Rose Jackson and will surely be the next single. It is, by some distance, the best song on the album.
It is catchy, has a strong beat, and the pair's voices work brilliantly together on the memorable chorus. Working with Jackson evidently pushed Faulkner’s writing and performance to another level. If he could maintain that kind of inspiration for a whole album it would be a contender for album of the year.
After that stonker of a tune anything else would be a let down and Faulkner allows the second half of the album to drift and become background music.
Human Love is pleasant and well delivered but ultimately ignorable. ‘Get Free’ and ‘Stay And Take’ will be welcome additions to his live set when he hits the festivals next summer but little else here could be classed as 'A' material.