Weathering The Storm Vol. 1
Evertone, 2020
9/10
Listen to Weathering The Storm Vol. 1
A veteran musician with a penchant for roots rock sounds, the Richmond, Virginia resident Rob Williams returns with a 4th solo album, where his timeless sense of storytelling and gritty yet melodic approach to songwriting makes for a very even and easily relatable 9 tunes.
Williams starts the listen with the warm acoustic guitar prowess of “Nameless”, where classic country ideas enter the vivid storytelling, and “Me And You” follows with a calmer approach as breezy rhythm highlights the very agile setting.
Closer to the middle, “A Hard Time” finds a more firm place to reside as Williams embraces his early years playing alt-rock, though with a rugged Americana flavor, while “Only Heaven Knows” flows with a freewheelin’ spirit that just might make you want to hop a train. “Moon’s Light”, one of the album’s best, is then a bare highlight as Williams’ comforting pipes run alongside a reflective folk climate.
“Ghostwriter (Rosie & Justin)” and “Good With The Changes” finish the listen, where the former uses piano effectively as well as subtle brass in the darker atmosphere, and the latter exits the listen loud, busy and full of rugged rock’n’roll you won’t soon forget.
A heartfelt, articulate and instantly enjoyable record, we can certainly put Rob Williams in a league with Tim Barry as folk/country/Americana song craft from RVA that we should all be paying attention to.
Travels well with: Cory Branan- The No-Hit Wonder; Julian Taylor- The Ridge