Everything’s gone ‘Black Again’ with Lewis Ross-Robson. Strange jazz-folk fusion, with a side of depression it’s not as bleak as it sounds honest.
Lewis Ross-Robson ‘Black Again’
Emotionally, ‘Black Again’ resembles nothing so much as the ramblings of a lost man – the slumped stranger on the bar, the friend-of-a-friend who suddenly lets you in on their darkest secrets. It is uncomfortable, and a little heartbreaking, but certainly true to life.
Lewis Ross-Robson is a Manchester-based artist who cites his main influences as Stephen Fretwell, Michael Nau and Adrianne Lenker. This latest single marks a return to releasing after a three-year musical hiatus.
‘Black Again’ is a hypnotic, stream-of-consciousness ode to melancholy, wrapped up in a fusion of folk, jazz and blues.
‘I can still hear them walking around me’, sing the haunting, troubled lyrics. The narrator seems to be begging for release from his own dreams and demons – ‘Dreams coming back again, where I fall and I’m stuck…make me go black again.’ All of this is combined with tumbling melodies and raw vocals smashed together with a strange reverb – the effect is compelling, if disturbing.
The production begins comfortably with folk-singer-songwriting a thrumming guitar, yet takes an unexpected turn when a moody, bluesy bass and a brush drumkit enter – suddenly we’re in late-night jazz territory. Add to that some surprisingly colourful keyboard chords, and it builds to a trance-like effect. Lewis Ross-Robson has definitely created a track worth checking out for its unique identity and eclectic combination of influences – though perhaps it is best saved for when you’re not feeling too angsty.
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Words Eden Tredwell
