It’s been a long old road to get here for London based singer-songwriter Rob Lynch. He’s spent years touring and honing his craft and it’s finally paying dividends. 2014 has been pretty great to him… signing a deal with a label with a great roster and reputation in Xtra Mile, huge European tours, a gruelling shift on the entire run of Warped Tour this past summer, and now the release of his debut album ‘All These Nights in Bars Will Somehow Save My Soul.’ An album that is absolutely crammed with urgency, catharsis and fucking great tunes.
The vast majority of the record speaks of nostalgia, it’s clear that Rob Lynch has used his song writing to put out a message he may not otherwise feel comfortable discussing. ‘Some Nights’ is a clear example, a hugely personal song, that for anybody who has lost somebody absolutely needs to listen to. It’s a stunning song that is driven with the most emotive of lyrics and is ultimately some of Rob’s most accomplished work to date. In a huge difference of tone; the festive vibe of ‘Stamford’ conjures up images of a Christmas Eve drink down your local, seeing people who you may not have seen for a long time, getting a bit merry and having a sing song. It’s fitting that a song named after his home town could end up being the song that makes Rob Lynch, it’s far and away the best song on the record and that’s not say the other songs are bad, it’s just that ‘Stamford’ is that good.
The songwriting abilities on show here are a clear step up from anything Rob has put out before, he’s had the time to carefully construct and think through every song and it shows, the reworked tracks sound bigger than ever, ‘Whiskey’ with it’s added layers works well and the guest vocals on ‘My Friends & I’ do a good job. As you delve further into the album, the ready-made single ‘Hand Grenade’ is a huge stand out track, it’s probably Rob’s most ambitious effort to date, the brass section at the end of the song is inspired and really lifts the track from good to brilliant.
‘All These Nights In Bars Will Somehow Save My Soul’ had to be good really, you don’t just get signed up to the likes of Xtra Mile for no reason and Rob Lynch has fully justified his position on the label. It’s going to take a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work but we could genuinely be looking at the next big UK singer songwriter to break through here. This album is more accomplished than a debut record has any real right to be, an absolutely cracking effort.
CHRIS MARSHMAN