Adam Winn EP – Album Review
A firefighter from Fort St. John, BC, Adam Winn has seen a lot in his life, and you can feel that in his playing. Strumming his guitar and singing with the controlled pathos of artists like Ray Lamontagne and Glen Hansard Winn brings a lot of deep connection with his listeners through his folk tones. For his latest EP, you can feel the sense of emotional vulnerability as he tries to let listeners know his pain.
“Creston” opens the record with a crisp guitar sound, as Winn sings a Bonnie and Clyde tale with his acoustic. A sunny While the track doesn’t offer up too much variety in terms of sections, especially considering its extended length, the continuing story will keep you listening.
Taking a notably pained note on “Burnout” there’s a surreal feeling to Winn’s description of fire’s both metaphorical and real. The psychosis he works through in his lyrics as he fights himself and the world around him is hard to bear at times during the track. Winn takes off as he belts through the second half of the song, letting all his suffering out in hearty yells.
On a delicate note, “Better Friend” is a soft reflection of the strong relationships we make in life. Building some steam as its percussion kicks in, the self-deprecating realizations of things that went wrong sound so regretful through Winn’s delivery. While Winn aces the delivery and overall emotion of the song, it does feel like it doesn’t grow much dynamically after the drums start playing.
As an intimate love song, “You Are” cuts to the core of real, sustained love. Comparing his partner to the beauty of his picturesque landscapes, there’s an accumulated artistry to how Winn slowly paints a picture in this track.
After a lengthy intro, “Always You” opens up on worried vocals, with Winn ready to finally do right and build a future. Short and to the point, it feels a lot more tight and digestible than other tracks on the EP that are made purely for folk fans.
Adam Winn certainly has a knack for intimate song writing on display on this EP and his ability to convey emotion through his vocal tracks is often heartbreaking to say the least. This said, tightening his songs down a little and offering up a little more variation compositionally will really help his writing going forward.