Review: Franklin Gotham extend hopeful embrace on ‘All We Have is Now’

The world is in utter mayhem. Political ties aside, fake news has distorted our perception of reality. Lines are blurred, and the divide is wider than it has ever been in our history. “I know I’m not alone,” reminds singer Kevin Adkins, frontman of Americana outfit Franklin Gotham, an adventurous VA-based trio of musicians who borrow from polished power-pop production styles and bend glorious ’80s synths with blues foot-stomps and tearful guitar acoustics. “Way Down Now,” off the band’s latest EP, All We Have is Now, stumbles along like a babbling brook down the mountainside. It envelopes you from within and emboldens you to pack away your anger, your hate, your uncertainty. “I just need some honesty,” Adkins implores, smokey campfire percussion quivering beneath him. “Won’t you show me something true today.”

Joined by multi-instrumentalist Jarrett Nicolay and drummer Christopher Speich, Adkins exposes his personal truth, shedding his outer shell for some higher, grander, more important mission. “Why are you messing with matters of my heart?” he prods on stunning closer “Hey Now,” which begins first with only strings before a tidal wave of synths wash over you by the two-minute mark. It’s a bold stylistic move, but it never feels contrived or mishandled. “Late at night, half 11, too soon to drive you home / Don’t have to tell me that you love me, just make sure that I know,” he coos softly before the zig-zag of instruments prick the arrangement. Its intimacy is profoundly larger-than-life, combing the more honest and grounded strands of the human existence.

“This is the way we all carry on,” Adkins rallies with “Soldier On,” a particularly self-explanatory opener which serves as a timely reminder that the darkness is only temporary. “A hidden love that went undetected / Stolen from my life so unexpected / Left bleeding hearts once connected,” he sings, embedded inside fragmented synths, like rays of light exiting a prism. From the cool guitar pressures to Adkin’s silky vocals, it’s reassuring, and just for a moment, the problems of the world seem to melt away completely. “Chill, comfortable, vibe-accentuated by warm live room and vintage equipment…the perfect analog tone from a friendly, relaxed, modern digital studio,” the band wrote on Facebook. That organic spirit bleeds onto the record, and while the turmoil will continue raging outside our windows, engulfing flames devouring our way of life, we can rest assured it won’t last forever.

Grade: 3 out of 5

Listen below:

Follow Franklin Gotham on their socials: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website