Vincent even returned with a new Dirty Deal, waiting for you to continue to carry away. "Busking in the Smoke," the first single from his forthcoming EP Steel Town Boy, is a lo-fi, soul-baring warm-up for what appears to be an exciting new chapter for the singer-songwriter. In a fusion of soulful melodies and storytelling, Rigney is claiming his spot as an artist with something real and unique to give.
"Busking in the Smoke" provides a delicately sad peek into the life and sound of Rigney, who comes from Corby, Northamptonshire, an English town laden with an industrial past. He's steeped in the working-class culture of this steel town, a thread that runs through his upbringing and music. Growing up in an entertainment family, Vincent was exposed to music from age 5, and his father would often ask him to sing Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" at family gatherings. Those formative moments on stage inspired a lifelong love of music, and the reverberations of those years are alive and kicking in every note of "Busking in the Smoke."
"Busking in the Smoke" has the charm of a folk song, its lyrics honed with care and an acoustic backbone that sounds classic and contemporary. "Busking in the Smoke" is fueled by the same down-to-earth honesty that made Rigney's debut EP connect with listeners. Lyrically, "Age" traces the artist's navigations between life's moments of ecstasy and melancholy, between his persona and a world that feels, at once, much larger than he can understand. Rigney's prose has an exhilarating simplicity, but none of his words are dispensable or ineffective.
But what sets this track apart is Rigney's rich, warm, and undeniably real voice. His delivery is vulnerable and self-assured, a perfect sound for a life that seems to have encompassed both struggle and hope. The song has an intimate feel, its lyrics a dialogue between the artist and the listener; Rigney welcomes you into his world, which he makes as personal as it is universal.