Back at the start of 2018, Birmingham-based Amit Dattani was riding high. He’d just released his debut album, Santiago, to universal acclaim for his unique and distinctive brand of roots-driven guitar picking and gentle, soft-voiced delivery. Then he was diagnosed with a degenerative nerve condition that meant that, within two years, he would no longer be able to play. Refusing to bow to the seemingly inevitable, he taught himself an entire new way of playing guitar and now, seven years on, and armed with a custom-built guitar, he defiantly returns with Wrong Kind of One, a follow-up, recorded live in straight takes with Steph Sanders on drums. It’s destined to see him showered with further glowing accolades and is one of my favourite albums of the year so far.
Again nimbly trading in a folk-blues fingerpicking style, mixing songs and instrumentals, it embraces self-penned numbers and traditionals alike, opening with the title track which, with skittering notes, scampering drums, an extended picked play out and a rootsy American old-school melody that recalls Will The Circle Be Unbroken, addresses refugees and the sacrifices and journeys they’ve made to escape violence, hardship, war and destruction (“Where’s my home now, dust and rubble”), only to find themselves dehumanised, left aside and mistreated (“they say I’m unwelcome, and they turn out all the lights…I will stay here, in the shadows/I’m the wrong kind of one”) in the lands where they sought refuge.
That’s followed by a fluidly flowing take on Make Me Down A Pallet On Your Floor, a traditional blues about homelessness popularised by Mississippi John Hurt that continues to have resonance in today’s social climate, returning to a theme of resilience and paying attention to your mental health (“Sometimes, I’m the straightest of lines/Laying flat on the page, with my hands by my side”) in times of dark days and anxiety with the slow sway of Steady the Boat, succinctly captured in the refrain “I’ll keep up momentum/When I’m falling below/If my knees don’t carry, I’ll steady the boat/And bend my will straight back to you”.
The first of three instrumentals, the melodically circling Gathering Acorns with its overlapping notes was written during covid after watching his then two year old son picking up acorns in the local park, a symbol of light in dark times, the childhood theme continuing with the ragtime touches of Golden Days, dedicated to his son and inspired by their walks to school, singing songs together (“Hand in hand, we’re a marching band/Singing songs we’ve borrowed/But the words they’ve changed, and rearranged/Full of joy and sorrow”) as he declares, “I’ll feel pride, deep inside/When I see you tomorrow/We’ll take our steps, and do our best/And do the same tomorrow”.
As you might imagine, turning to electric guitar, the steady marching beat Now I Can Play On is, with hints of Richard Thompson, a song about his new guitar (“Got a thinner set of wires, so now I can play on/Got a shorter neck, so I can press along with joy”) and the gratitude of being able to continue to do the things that bring him inner peace and purpose (“I’ll keep on calling out for truth/I’ll play a part, in my own art and keep on playing on”).
Just over 60 seconds, the second instrumental is Tony, the title referring both to the name of his guitar, bought for him by his parents, and his father’s nickname, the penultimate track being a cover of his favourite Dylan song, One Too Many Mornings, rearranged for a slower tempo and circling, ringing guitar notes and understated brushed drums. And, finally, the third instrumental closes it out, bringing blues colours to the traditional gospel hymn Just a Closer Walk With Thee, perhaps his own affirmation of gratitude to whatever divine power has brought about his Lazarus musical rebirth. When Santiago was released, I wrote that it was among the year’s finest debut albums; this time, you just need to remove the word debut.
The Wrong Kind of One (September 5th, 2025) Self Released