Late last year, Toowoomba multi-instrumentalist Ayden Roberts released his sophomore LP Bound By Silver, a wholly charming and absorbing record that totals 31 glorious minutes. On Bound By Silver, Ayden builds on the best parts of his debut, Ciao Bella, delivering wonderful vocal harmonies between himself and fellow artist Hannah Groves, superb lyricism and memorable hooks.
A beautiful middle ground between carefree, blissful folk and catchy folk-rock, the tracks on Bound By Silver won’t be leaving your head any time soon. The title track opens the record minimally but wonderfully, with Ayden’s intimate vocals and guitar as well as memorable tongue-twister lyrics like “Belonging beats belongings by miles.” Analogue Adolescence turns the tempo up, creating a fun folk-rock tune about wishing you could go back to a pre-technology age while Catch You If I Tried slows things down with a breezy beach tone and irresistible vocal harmonies, made even more cheerful by hand claps and cheeky guitar solos.
Keeping the mood light are tracks Mediocre Minimalism, Cooking and Frolicin’. Mediocre Minimalism is a graceful down-tempo folk-rock song about working out the things you need in life to be happy while Cooking is a country influenced ode to taking proper care of yourself. The flow of the album is superb, contrasting upbeat jams with slow folk gems like Character Am I, Expecto and the powerful Miss Mourning before closing with the colourful arrangement that is Slow As Honey. The song effortlessly combines strings, guitars and percussion with heart-warming vocal harmonies to create yet another idyllic folk tune.
Building on the strong foundations of his debut Ciao Bella, Ayden Roberts’ sophomore effort, Bound By Silver is an easily accessible folk album that becomes even more charming and enchanting with repeat listens. Whether you’re a fan of the genre, or just looking for a positive record filled with gorgeous vocal harmonies and wonderful lyricism, Bound By Silver is a quintessential work of folk.
Ayden Roberts’ sophomore LP Bound By Silver is out now.
BOUND BY SILVER – AYDEN ROBERTS
This review is courtesy of Phoenix Radio’s Emerge program, hosted by Calen Le Couteur and Russell Thompson. Follow Emerge and tune in on Monday nights 7-9PM HERE.
