In 2022, Adam Ross, one of Scotland’s most talented singers and songwriters, delivered his strangely visceral Staring At Mountains, an album that found him at his most open. KLOF Mag’s Thomas Blake noted how the chamber-pop elements, the influences of bands like Belle and Sebastian or the Divine Comedy, have been replaced by something more difficult to define, a style that celebrates a certain clarity or translucence.
His new album, Littoral Zone (out on May 4th via Fika Recordings), returns to those chamber-pop influences, aided by Andrew Wasylyk‘s sweeping orchestral-indie production. Listen to his latest single, Apogee, an optimistic evocation of the strength of love.
Pete Harvey wrote the string arrangements, and the song also features guest vocals by Gillian Fleetwood and brass by Rachel Simpson. It was recorded during a series of sessions in Andrew Wasylyk’s Dundee studio.
Adam says about the song:
“I wrote Apogee during a pretty special two-month songwriting stay in a former lighthouse keeper’s cottage at Todhead near Catterline a few years ago. My wife would visit at the weekends and then I’d be left on my own throughout the week so this song was for her, really.
“Todhead Lighthouse was where I wrote and recorded half of my first solo album, Staring At Mountains, but Apogee didn’t feel right for that album. I had a couple of different ideas about where to take it but Andrew suggested Camera Obscura as a loose reference point since we knew were going to be lucky enough to work with a string ensemble. When I arrived at the string recording session, this is the song they were playing and it was a really lovely moment for me to walk into the room and hear it all coming together. I love Pete Harvey’s arrangement.”
Littoral Zone, is released by Fika Recordings on 24th May on vinyl, CD and digital which is currently available to pre-order. https://fikarecordings.bandcamp.com/album/littoral-zone
Adam Ross Live dates:
8th March – MONTROSE – St Mary’s & St Peter’s Church supporting Alison Eales
21st March – MONTROSE – The Playhouse supporting Roddy Woomble
13th/14th July – NORWAY – Indiefjord festival