Evolution is key to growth as an artist. This much is true but evolving in such a way as it makes one bolder in the way they express themselves is the mark of an artist who is finding their voice – not just their musical and lyrical voice, but also their philosophical and ethical voice.
On his third studio album, In This Town You’re Owned released on Feb. 14 via Thirty Tigers, Liverpool, England’s Robert Vincent has most definitely and definitively found that voice. And it is one that is becoming more essential and impactful for the times we’re living in.
Vincent takes his role as a teller of tales, singer of songs and poet of the people seriously, believing in the importance of music to be the voice of the voiceless and its ability to speak truth to power and take up the causes of those who fall through the cracks or under the jackboots of ‘the system.’
In the current season of unrest and dissension – the rise of populism, jingoism, overt racism, climate change denialism and many other destructive ‘isms’ he felt it was necessary to become more blunt and unwavering in his lyrical approach, which is particularly evident on most songs on In This Town You’re Owned.
“I am trying to be more direct in the things I want to say, although musically things are kind of staying in the same ballpark as my previous albums. So, while musically not a massive amount has changed, I think have grown as a writer to be more confident about the things that I actually want to say. This album is a lot more politically direct. We were just talking about climate change and there’s a song called Conundrum which is just about that. Are we willing to continue to accept this level of consumerism? We have to find different ways of doing things,” he said, admitting openly that he is on the left side of the political spectrum.
“I am not a fan of Donald Trump or Boris Johnson in the slightest. And my prediction over the next five years, especially in this country, is that songs and songwriters will be becoming a lot more open and a lot more direct because these are the times that create the singer/songwriter. These are the days when people have to pick up the pen and write words that mean something, and which hopefully connect with people out there. Sadly, this set of songs was just impossible not to write because the lyrics were just coming to me every day. There was something I always felt I wanted to say. A lot of what has happened here in the UK politically has caused a lot of anger and upset. So, I am just ready to say whatever I need to say, whether it upsets people or not.
“What I am finding I am writing about the most are lessons that haven’t been learned. We are finding ourselves back in a world where you have the rise of the right, which is pretty strong in most countries now. South America is certainly having a good go and getting some right wing people in there, and you have it more and more in Italy and France. And if we haven’t learned the lessons yet from the rise of Fascism in the 1930s, then when are we going to learn them? When are we going to realize that we can’t let that happen again? But we find ourselves in this situation and I guess we’ll just have to go through it all again until people decide to be done with the Trumps and Brexits and Boris Johnson’s of this world.”
Vincent is optimistic that over the longer term, goodness and humanity will eventually prevail, that what we are experiencing today with the political divisiveness, the brazen ignorance, anti-science, retrograde ideologies coming to the fore is actually the last gasp of a societal modality that is destined to wither on the vine or progress.
“I definitely think there’s a storm that we’re all going to be riding out until whatever time. I think its got something to do with the whole climate change thing as well, because I think the powers that be behind all of these terrible things know that it’s the last hurrah for the capitalists anyways. The people around Trump and Boris Johnson and these other right wing populists are just digging in and saying, okay we’re just going to go for it. That’s why they are being so blunt and brazen about the things they say – they’re all going to be gone in 10 or 20 years and they just want to make as much money as they can before they do. And they want to cause as much upset as they possibly can with the time they’ve got left as well,” he explained.
“Just like in the U.S., over here we’ve got the same thing, a misogynist, racist guy in power who is not scared to openly say things. Then you’ve got [Labour leader] Jeremy Corbyn on the left who is just a decent bloke, but who got absolutely smeared continually for things, most of which were lies. The people in power don’t care how they get to where they get to, they do it because it’s their last hurrah and they’re just trying to cling to any kind of fossil fuel-burning, acquisitive habits that they’ve got, and then those they leave behind will all have to pay the price, as usual.
“I think the next generation of kids are going to come through this okay. They are clued up and smart, and those in power know this, and they know they’re not going to get away with it for very long. We have another general election in less than five years and the generation of kids that have come through the whole Brexit mess will eventually win. I do believe that, and I am a very optimist person. I am a very hopeful person, but the songs are all about these troubling times. The album finishes with a song called Cuckoo which is all about forgiveness. It’s all about the belief that hopefully there will soon be a good outcome and a hopeful outcome for all of us.”
One of the most powerful tracks on the album, and one that examines the fortitude of the next generation is the evocative The Kids Don’t Dig God Anymore.
“It’s my way of saying kids these days seem to have lost a lot of faith in a lot of different things. It’s really not a dig at religion. And like I was saying before, I think the kids are going to have to be the ones who are going to ‘wrangle the beast’ as I say in the song. It’s a different way of saying how difficult it is to have belief or faith in anything at the moment, and how hard it is to focus on what is right and wrong, or what’s real and what isn’t,” Vincent explained.
“I know it’s going to split opinions and some people are probably going to think I am having a go at religion, but I am not. It’s a way of getting across whatever that ‘God’ may be – traditions, institutions, the sacred cows of the past. We’ve got to look towards something else. It’s hard to believe in something that hasn’t really worked for a large majority of people. And when you start looking at it like that, we have to stop believing or putting so much faith into religious-based ideas, and start looking at the real issues around us, which are climate change and war and political division. We have to start living in the moment and living in the real world a little bit more.
“Young people are basically saying, ‘why should we believe in anything you say when you have messed things up so much.’ So, the song is not meant to offend, but I can understand if some people might get put off by it, but like we have been talking about, I think the time for sort of more direct talk is now.”
Husk of A Soul could come across as a somewhat nihilistic take on how many folks get through their day to day existences, but it’s actually a song about the power of the human spirit and how people need to channel all the inner strength they can to not just survive life’s grind, but persevere and even prevail.
“We’ve got to just keep banging away, even when sometimes you literally feel that your whole soul is being sucked out of you by these continual attacks and all the negativity, when most people just want to live their lives peacefully. It just boils down to finding a way to keep moving forward, to keep fighting the good fight. Again, it’s just another variation on the theme of the whole album which is In This Town You’re Owned. Everyone is being worn down by the whole situation, whether it’s Brexit, whether you are in or out, or whether you’re a Trump fan or you’re not. I think we’ve all been bought in one way or another and we’ve all been owned by the way social media has controlled that,” he said of the inspiration for the song.
“There are a lot of people who have husks for souls and there’s not a great deal you can do about that, but the rest of us just have to keep pushing on.”
Vincent said he was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with highly-regarded, award-winning producer Ethan Johns, who has worked with the likes of Ray LaMontagne, Laura Marling and another Liverpudlian you may have heard of by the name of Paul McCartney.
“We met through the Americana Music Association here in the U.K. and he was the MC for the awards show that they have and I picked up an award that night from [legendary British broadcaster/DJ Bob Harris], the first Emerging Artist Award that he gave out. So, I met Ethan through that and then the next time that the awards came around, we knew each other a bit more. We did a radio show together and just started chatting afterwards while having a bite to eat and he just said that he really would like to work with me sometime. And, for me, that was a huge thing because I am absolutely a huge fan of his work and what he has done as a producer and as an artist in his own right. So, it was great to work with him,” he said, adding that he doesn’t mind being labelled under the Americana banner, even though he could justifiably fit as a more pure folk artist or under the singer/songwriter banner.
“To me, it’s folk, and it is storytelling. I think folk is just wherever you’re from. I think Americana is a movement at the moment which is great. It’s always great as an artist to have a musical home, it’s always great to have like minded people doing a similar thing as you, and it’s certainly given me a way of being able to do what I need to do. I very much lean on the influences I grew up with. I was brought up on country music and was around the blues and folk music too. But I was also brought up on Pink Floyd, so the two things are definitely in there. Also, you have to think back to the Beatles and Liverpool in the 1950s and 1960s; there was a really big country thing going on because a lot of the sailors used to go to New York and they would bring back jazz and blues and country albums that you couldn’t get over here
“Liverpool developed all these different scenes. I mean, the Cavern Club, before it became The Cavern, was a jazz club. And there were always country bars where a lot of music was going on. It’s something that’s quite heavily ingrained into the city, and then on top of that you have the influence of Irish music and Irish culture into Liverpool, which goes back even further.
“I grew up listening to both a lot of American music but also a lot of English music. What I am doing with my stuff is just an interpretation on that kind of great tradition of what came over from America, mixed in with what has happened here. And of course, talking to you reminds me of your Neil Young and Joni Mitchell who are great artists and they heavily influenced a lot of people over here. I am a big Pink Floyd fan as I said, and I know Neil Young heavily influenced Roger Waters. It all kind of goes around and it’s just a celebration – it’s a big pot that we can all dip into for inspiration.”
Like the socially conscious troubadours and folk singers of past generations, Vincent will be hitting the road to share his message for good portions of 2020. For tour dates, and more information, visit his socials or www.robertvincentmusic.com.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for 30 years. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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