Cut to Black

by Barry Adamson

Overview

Barry Adamson launched his solo career making soundtrack albums for movies that existed only in his imagination, and decades later he still makes music that exists in a world of his own, a place of cool menace and dark but potent grooves. Like 2016's Know Where to Run, 2024's Cut to Black is a rather conventional album by Adamson's standards -- all ten tracks have vocals, are constructed in something akin to conventional song structures, and lack a connecting narrative. That said, Cut to Black also finds Adamson trading in what he does best, writing songs that exist in an alternate universe of British film noir, emulating vintage pop and R&B tropes in a way that cranks up the darkly shadowy atmosphere to ten. The opening cut, "The Last Words of Sam Cooke," sounds like some lost Northern soul track wed to a story of fatal misadventure, and like it could be a hit single as long as listeners don't think too much about the sinister edge of the lyrics. Classic soul and R&B sounds of the '60s clearly influenced most of the songs on Cut to Black, although Adamson's use of boomy drum loops and samples gives this music a sound that emphasizes the haunting undercurrents of the music, and his vocals often suggest the inner monologue of a smooth but hard-boiled character living on the wrong side of the law -- if it doesn't sound quite like a film score, it could pass for a collection of single sides that were compiled to accompany a retro-styled British gangster drama. Despite its edgy qualities, most of these tracks have a convincing dance-worthy pulse, and the cynicism of the lyrics makes room for more than a little mordant wit; Adamson doesn't seem interested in making music that's "nice," but he doesn't mind if you have a good time. Cut to Black is more approachable than many of Adamson's instrumental and electronic-oriented releases, although it never sounds watered-down or compromised; longtime fans will find much to appreciate, and newbies interested in his work will find this a good entry point into his catalog. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	05/17/2024
Label:	Barry Adamson Inc.
UPC:	5051083199407
Rank:	39081

Tracks

1. The Last Words of Sam Cooke
2. Demon Lover
3. Cut to Black
4. Manhattan Satin
5. These Would Be Blues
6. Please Don't Call on Me
7. Amen White Jesus
8. One Last Midnight
9. Was It a Dream?
10. Waiting for the End of Time

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Barry Adamson   Primary Artist