I get nervous on behalf of any artist who decides to bring out a double album, especially in these download and shuffle days. It is this way of listening that often threatens to reduce these sprawling, ambitious epics to throwaway three minute soundbites.
What this modern day approach often misses is the sense of journey, scale, purpose, and ambition that many such works possess. A fine example of the 'whole' being worth far more than a downloaded part is Adam Marsland’s ambitious double release Go West.
Listen to it for the first time and you are instantly aware of a range of satisfying styles amid a clear musical pedigree. Listen a little further and you become aware of something altogether deeper contained within.
This is an album that was written on the back of tragedy, loss, and problems that have come together to make the last year a personal nightmare for the artist himself. As a result, the album, as the aforementioned 'whole', represents a wide ranging journey of exploration through the extremes of hope and despair.
To explain his thinking behind such brave creativeness he tells us on the promotional material that, “albums to me are like children, and you’re responsible for them. Some grow up to be mechanics and you don’t have to worry about them. Others are special, and you have to send them to medical school. Go West is one of those.”
The past year has been frankly awful for Adam Marsland. His brother suddenly passed away. In another tragic incident, his sister-in-law was murdered. On top of that he struggled with an illness that threatened his hearing, his house was broken into, and most of his recording equipment was stolen including his beloved Telecaster, desktop, synth, and other valuable equipment.
Such events would have seen most of us retreating from life to hopefully gather enough strength to carry on. Instead, Adam threw himself into the writing process and the result is an epic double release that really is one of those special children he refers to.
“It’s roughly about being a young adult gradually finding out life isn’t what you thought it was and neither are you.” This is a place in life that many of us have found ourselves at some point along the way, and one that some of us may even be reliving through the experiences and struggles of our own children.
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