This the third solo record from a Scottish songwriter who led the indie band Randolph's Leap for over a decade.
Ross now lives in St Cyrus, an Aberdeenshire village on the north-east coast of Scotland but the opening track, Berkeley Street, is inspired by affectionate memories of living in Glasgow in his 20s.
The album was recorded live onto tape, using traditional analogue techniques at Glasgow’s Green Door Studio as a reaction to the spectre of AI generated music.
Ross says ”I wanted to make something that sounded extra-specially human and hand-crafted, where you could hopefully hear the interplay between musicians.” The core band consists of Owen Curtis-Williams on drums, Cameron Maxwell on bass, Pedro Cameron on violin, Gillian Fleetwood on harp and Pete MacDonald on piano.
The literate lyrics and gentle lilt to his vocals made me think of fellow Scot Kenny Anderson (King Creosote) and the eloquence of Lloyd Cole. The humorous lyrics are self-reflective without being self-pitying: “Is this a midlife crisis or is it art?” he sings wryly on Crisis .
Ross sounds wistful and even a little melancholic but never jaded or demoralised . Of the album title he says: I think apathy is a big reason people decide to stop making art. So the title is meant to be empowering. It’s about recognising the abundance of apathy in the world and trying to inure myself to it and get some kind of control and power over it.”
Fittingly, the title track is one of the most upbeat numbers. Like the record as a whole, it's a triumph of hope over depression.
