Hand Built by Robots by Newton Faulkner Sony

Product Description: Newton Faulkner has toured with Paulo Nutini and James Morrison. You hear this fact far more often than you have to--it might have made sense to expose his palatable acoustic tinkerings to those massive audiences, but that association leaves too simplistic an impression. He specialises in partially progressive, free-willed folk-pop that is on one hand too cosy and warm for mass consumption--there's only so much space around the beach campfire--but on the other it's so accessible, so infectious, so feel-good that how could it not be headed for every other car stereo in the country, windows rolled down (weather permitting). It's not cutting edge by any stretch of the imagination; he constantly reminds of the acoustic balladry of 90s soft-metal bands Extreme and Mr Big (or at least the songs "More than Words" and "To Be with You") via modern day peers like Ben Harper, but Newton Faulkner comes with a fertile imagination and an enjoyably flexible range to dress that foundation up. His gravelly cover of Massive Attack's "Teardrop" is notable and Jack Johnson's a good reference for the percussive plucking of tunes like "Gone in the Morning", "To the Light" and "Feels Like Home". There are very few 17-track albums that couldn't be improved by losing six tracks, but the consistency on Hand Built by Robots is admirable and hints at a long term talent. --James Berry

Customer Reviews

5 stars Set aside your preconceptions . . .
. . . and just listen. You can hear every word, you can learn every one of them and sing them -- and you will, playing this cd over and over. Without being in any way old-fashioned, this is music the way it used to be. What a terrific debut! Newton Faulkner may singlehandedly make ginger dreadlocks the fashion all over the world. :)

5 stars fantastic
his voice is heart shattering, his percussive strenghths are phenominal, and his technical guitar-work is nothing less than impeccable. this is one musician i HIGHLY recommend seeing live. if you see him live and have no urge to buy this album afterwards, check your pulse...

5 stars I AM HOOKED ON THIS ARTIST
The first song of his that I heard was a cover of the song Teardrop in which he shows off his "guitar tapping skills"! After I listened to his other songs, I instantly fell in love with his music. I had not heard the song Straight To The Sun before I bought the CD, but it may be one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. He apparently has started to get increasingly more exposure in the US. I saw that he was on Jay Leno not too long ago. What a unique and talented singer/song writer/ musician!! He writes such meaningful and passionate lyrics. I can "chill out" or listen to this while I am at my desk, and my state of mind is instantly improved. If you like acoustic guitar and songs with a message, you need to give this one a try!

5 stars Brilliant!!!
Amazing Album, First saw this guy opening up for John Mayer at THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL last year, was looking forward to hearing more. Not many CD's have that 'play all the way through from start to finish, never skip a song' thing going for them. In my collection of a few hundred barely a handful fit this bill. This however goes right in there amongst them. Superb, thats all I can say, every song is a winner and the tunes are catchy but still different from a lot of things out there.

Great album and Recommend it to anyway who enjoys the superb playing of acoustic guitar and great catchy songs!!

4 stars hey! talent that isn't packaged!
I first heard about Newton Faulkner by...no! not the latest single on the radio. I was at a record shop, and asked about music similar in style to Keller Williams, who I just saw last night, helluva show too. This guy was recomended, put on the stereo, and I bought it. Why did I buy it? I rarely buy CDs, but this guy has a good sense of melody, a good voice and range, although some of the songs do sound similar.

Hmmm, the next big thing? Well, hard to tell, but he can sing, no pitch correction or studio trickery it seems, just a guy singing with a guitar and spare backing band. Reminds me of early David Gray, and Justin Currey from Del Amitri most of all. Mellow, but not as boring as Jack Johnson who sounds like he's singing the same song every time.

Faulkner will be a good one to catch live, lots of good talent and enough diffrence in melodic structure to keep the album moving along, good for a saturday afternoon with the wind blowing. Be careful of people who throw around, "the next big thing," scary phrase there.

Layter,
dave

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