London Folk Magazine and News
Album Review - Christopher Crompton: ´Keep the Future Bright´
‘Keep the Future Bright’ is the debut album from the Midlands-based singer-songwriter.
Drawing influence from the American and British folk traditions, Christopher Crompton covers topics such as social and political issues, as well as love and loss. However, he does this with a refreshing breeze of optimism that is sometimes lost with more melancholy singer-songwriters.
Stripped back and raw, with just his excellent fingerpicked guitar and vocals, he creates an age old, timeless feel to his style. I’m sure it would have been as well received in the days of Jackson C. Frank and Roy Harper as hopefully it will be today. Recorded at Fantastic Rain Studio in Willenhall, the tracks are crystal clear and really help bring his astute guitar playing and delicate vocal delivery to life.
He has a real knack for storytelling in his songs, the song ‘Girl with the Violin’ particularly spoke to me with its narration of someone’s somewhat tragic journey learning the violin, which ends with some haunting long violin notes drifting over the main melody.
Contemplative and smattered with articulate observations on social and personal issues, Christopher Crompton’s music speaks straight from the heart with a clarity and sincerity that I feel is often missing in contemporary folk music.
Facebook: @ChristopherCromptonWordsandMusic
