Singer songwriter Andy Robinson is a folk artist with a real penchant for storytelling. Now on his third album with ‘Willamina Machine’, his trademark wit and multi-instrumental skills are as strong as any other artist on the circuit at present. The new album, written, developed and captured during a long sojourn in the US, is perhaps the best showcase for his abilities thus far.
Totalling 10 tracks, ‘Willamina Machine’ is by turns melancholic and funny, upbeat and mellow – an album of opposites with a new touch of Americana to supplement the strong folk sensibilities. From the radio friendly ‘Bury Me Good’ to the pacy oompah of ‘100 Miles Per Hour’, this covers the folk spectrum from the commercial to the challenging, but without ever being unaccessible.
Perhaps the most telling track on offer here is ‘Show Me A Sign’, where Robinson talks of his friends getting married and having jobs, while he waits for somebody to ‘Put my name up in lights’ – the eternal struggle of the talented, undervalued musician.
