Rob Thom
Album: Trapped & Free
Label: VerseChorus
Tracks: 11
Website: http://www.robthom.co.uk

Debut album from North London based singer songwriter Rob Thom, 'Trapped & Free' is beauty attained through simplicity.

Sparse production is the order of the day, with a set of extremely well-crafted songs that offer more than just a passing nod to the Americana hinterland.

All tracks on the album with the exception of 'The View From The Ground' were written and recorded in Thom's North London flat between February and August 2011.

The Americana influence is no doubt the result of Thom's childhood association with the area around Kansas City, where he spent his childhood and of late where he has been a frequent visitor. 'Just the Kind of Thing' probably best exemplifies the influence, and is a song about finding new friends in strange places.

The musicians appearing on the album were gathered from Thom's regular perfoming haunt The Perseverence in Marleybone, and 'David #2' is the album's only live track, included on the album as a tribute to the support Thom has received from the regular crowd who frequent the venue.

Stand out tracks are the Kansas influenced opener 'Catherine', and 'A View from the Ground', written in the aftermath of the London riots, but focussing sharply on the reaction to the riots.

The personal attention afforded by Thom even extends to the album's artwork which features two of his own watercolours depicting views of Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill, close to his North London home.

This is without doubt a promising debut, and I look forward to thje chance of catching Rob Thom live, maybe in The Perseverence in Marleybone where he can be found playing on most Monday nights.

Phil Carter