Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams as an album might not be uplifting but it sure is outstanding, reaffirming the singular talent of its namesake.

Ryan Adams can be seen as an emotionally mature take from an artist who is able to think in terms of career, able to look beyond selfish reasons for creating art, and able to give fans something that can be both pleasant to listen to and enjoyable to perform on a nightly basis. 

If Ryan Adams was merely sonic candy, it would've been enough, but this is also one of Adams' cannily constructed records, one that runs deliberately lean. 

Like much of his best work, it’s a slow-burner of an album: at first listen, it sounds a pretty decent radio-friendly record, but it’s only on repeated plays that the full emotional scale which Adams is displaying becomes clear. 

The result is this re-energised, Veteran smart and surprisingly groovy but bruised beauty. It’s not country, nor punk, but classic heartland rock ‘n’ roll with swagger. Lots of swagger. 

Adams is front and centre, backed by a well-practiced group of studio players, delivering 11 cuts that expertly walk the line between rock, folk and alt-country. The edges are rounded, with a big, chiming sound that make the record instantly listenable. 

Older and wiser perhaps, but with an undimmed sense of fun, Adams still runs circles 'round most pretenders to the country-rock throne.

It’s more of a rock ’n’ roll album than the rootsy, understated Ashes & Fire, and while Adams includes a handful of the wrenching ballads he does so well, bold electric guitars hold sway on most of these 11 new songs.

What makes Ryan Adams so stunning is both its substance and restraint