RM Hubbert - Breaks & Bone

"Ten songs about being in love, saying goodbye, accepting depression, letting go of grief and living with a dog called D Bone. It's really not as depressing as the last sentence might suggest. Also, you get to hear me sing. So there's that."

What more could you want. Only two months after winning the Scottish Album of the Year with the album Thirteen Lost and Found featuring collaborations with Aidan Moffat, Alex Kapranos and Emma Pollock, RM Hubbert is back with another great album. Much more stripped back then the last, it exercises even more technical genius and rare vocal features from the man himself.

The third of his The Ampersand Trilogy (First and Last, Thirteen Lost and Found), Breaks & Bone is definitely the most emotional of the three, and with the introduction of vocals, demonstrates RM Hubbert's sincere acceptance of his emotional wellbeing as mentioned earlier.

The album opens with Son of Princess, Brother of Rambo, a meandering instrumental track full of flamenco flourishes which ebbs and flows in speed. This is a nice and unexpected contrast to the following track, Bolt, a percussive number which features vocals from Hubbert, however they are no so overpowering as to deflect from the dancing and weaving guitar lines.

Another track featuring vocals is Tongue Tied & Tone Deaf, driven by a rhythmic catchy theme on the guitar.

Slight closes the album with a reflective tone, and demonstrates once more Hubbert's brilliant virtuoso guitar playing and the ability to play multiple melodic lines with ease.

A brilliant album, which I cannot wait to truly enjoy live.

Breaks & Bone by RM Hubbert is out now on Chemikal Underground Records.

SL

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