Newton Faulkner re-emerges with new single "Alright Alright Alright" [Review]

Newton Faulkner has returned with a new sound five years after a hush of musical silence. "Alright Alright Alright," the electrifying, genre-bending new single from his forthcoming eighth studio album "OCTOPUS," due by September 19th on Cooking Vinyl Records, sees the beloved acoustic singer ditching the rulebook and maybe his beloved guitar to forge dynamic new territory with electric, unanticipated results.

Abandoning his acoustic roots to favor a distorted Hofner Violin Bass, the songwriter throws himself into waves of sonic experimentation. The result is a gritty, energized rock song about dozen-odd modes of acknowledging existence in the present. It feels like a stream-of-consciousness jam session when the artist has finally stopped caring in a good way. As Newton stated, he was having more fun than anyone should be allowed at work, which is clear. This is about passion.

"Alright Alright Alright" isn't all distortion and defiance. It's coated in vocal textures from Ukrainian duo The Bloom Twins, whose ethereal harmonies add a chilling coolness to the soulfulness around the edges sound. Their voices deepen the emotional palette. The emotional gravity of their story, the repeated flights home to war-torn Ukraine several times a year, casts a chilling, very real shadow over the surreal plateau.

This single is a rebirth. "OCTOPUS" also has the appropriate name for what feels like a desire to stretch Faulkner's musical tentacles as far as they're willing to reach this lead offering. After the most extended hiatus between albums of his career, it's evident that Newton is recharged. From his home studio in East London, he's made something that is at once reckless and refined, playful yet poignant.

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