Review: Adam Masterson ‘Time Bomb’

By Mike O’Cull

Old-school rock and roll singer-songwriter Adam Masterson makes ageless music for modern fans on his much-anticipated sophomore album Time Bomb.

Time Bomb drops February 17th, 2023 and paints a picture of Masterson as an ultra-vivid, street poet-type of songwriter in the electric Bob Dylan/Lou Reed/Bruce Springsteen tradition. What sets him apart from the typical troubadour these days is his use of rock music as the context for his words and melodies to exist within, not folk, country, or Americana.

Masterson clings to his own sounds and inspirations, unafraid to create the music he hears inside and render it with guitar, piano, strings, and intense vocals. He co-produced the record with a Dean’s List of heavyweight collaborators including James Hallawell (The Waterboys, Graham Parker), Tchad Blake (The Black Keys, Sheryl Crow), Sean Genocky (The Black Crowes, Richard Ashcroft), Ron Saint Germain (Soundgarden, 311), Dave O’Donnell (James Taylor, Keith Richards), Craig Dreyer (Pete Francis, Dispatch), and Paul Stacey (Oasis, The Black Crowes).

Adam Masterson is one of the most exciting rock and roll artists to emerge from the UK in recent years. He’s an iconoclastic songwriter who makes no bones about his vintage influences and their relevance to today. He uses them to buck trends, generate a heavily charismatic vibe, and grab attention everywhere he goes. He’s shared stages with Tori Amos and Amy Winehouse and also worked with Mick Jones of The Clash. He’s everything a rock star should be: a channel of magic and emotion topped with dark glasses and armed with a guitar and a notebook.

Masterson is backed on Time Bomb by a dream team studio band featuring Charlie Jones (Goldfrapp, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page), Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols) and Brett Bass (Gregg Allman) on bass, Leo Abrahams (Paolo Nutini, Regina Spektor) and David Rhodes (Peter Gabriel, Scott Walker) on guitars, Charlie Drayton (The Cult, Divinyls), Jeremy Stacey (King Crimson, Ryan Adams) and Omar Hakim (David Bowie, Journey) on drums, Peter Tickell (Sting) on mandolin and violin, and Rob Clores (Jesse Malin, Charli XCX) and Ben Stivers (Lyle Lovett, Matchbox Twenty) on piano. The combination of this kind of musical might with Adam’s exceptional songwriting is immediately enthralling and is going to win new fans in a hurry.

The record opens with its atmospheric and dramatic title cut “Time Bomb.” Masterson bets it all on his lyrics and minimalist arrangement and wins big. Rather than opting for bombast, he uses craft, mood, and melody to set the hook in your headphones and make you want to keep listening. It’s a confident move and delivers a memorable first-song experience.

Speaking of memorable, “Bring Back The Freaks” sets a high bar. It’s a lament and a calling out for the cultural firebrands who set so much in motion in the old days and our need for them now. The track is a soulful ballad that longs for departed life-changers like Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, John Lennon, Stanley Kubrick, Charles Bukowski, and other “misfit high priests” who broke the new ground the world needed. It’s a powerful song that will hit anyone who finds their life on the fringes. Nonconformists, this means you. Masterson has the perfect voice for this story and will make you hang on each word.

“Take A Little Love”

 
“Take A Little Love” is the single and it’s a great tune with a Rolling Stones-worthy chorus hook. Masterson wrote it with James Stevenson (GenX, Gene Loves Jezebel) and turned the band loose on it with stellar results. Big vocals, soaring slide guitars, and a driving pocket make this one a wonderful introduction to Masterson’s universe.

All of Time Bomb is deserving of a place of honor in your listening rotation but pay special heed to winners like “Avenue Walk” and “Crazy Rain.” Adam Masterson reignites a particular style of rock and roll that’s equal parts tough-love romanticism and sidewalk grit that tells tales of broken hearts and open eyes. Spin him and feel alive again.

Adam Masterson website