Some 15 years after his last solo album, The Damage, Chris Adams returns to the scene. As that release was unjustly overlooked, here he re-adopts the name of String Driven Thing, the band he fronted in the 70s, to raise interest. Yet while the missus, Pauline, throws in the odd harmony, the line-up bears little relation to the Charisma label folkrockers who had a semi-hit with It’s A Game, so this should really be regarded as another Adams solo project.
It ain’t half bad. He’s a gravelvoiced charmer in the Knopfler vein, but with a way of structuring a narrative that harks back to the likes of Eric Andersen. The 12 tracks are each finely honed, and, while the lack of violin, String Driven Thing’s instrumental trademark, is to regretful, Moments Of Truth succeeds when taken on its own merits.
As this appears to be a low-key release to the extent of lacking a catalogue number, it may best be found through www. stringdriventhing.co.uk, or at the band’s promised autumn tour dates. Hopefully a fiddler will be found…
