Kev Adkins is a songwriter, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer based in Alexandria, Virginia, and he has been at this for a long time. He once fronted Icewagon Flu, an East Coast Celtic rock band that worked the club circuit and played major Irish festivals, and in 2013 he co-founded the Virginia indie-pop project Franklin Gotham with producer Jarrett Nicolay. That partnership produced nine EPs, and Nicolay is still in his corner now that Adkins is going it alone.
“Last Life” is his first single under his own name. Nicolay and Brittany Valint both had a hand in the song, while British producer Adam James, whose credits include work with James Morrison, shaped the recording. A handmade claymation teaser was created to go along with the release.
Last Life
This is a different shade of Adkins than Franklin Gotham fans might expect. A banjo figure opens the door and stays front and centre, wiry and a little spooky, setting the tone for a song that wanders into the darker corners of country while keeping the forward motion of indie folk. A steady, thumping bassline pushes it along, slide guitar curls around the edges, and the arrangement keeps swelling until it feels big enough for a festival field without losing its rootsy core. Adkins’ voice, rough around the edges and full of feeling, suits it perfectly.
Lyrically, it is a song about a connection that feels too strong to be explained by one lifetime alone. Adkins sketches two people bound together by something neither can quite name, with images like sunlight falling across old cobblestones and a recurring hint that they may have crossed paths before, in some earlier life. Mortality hovers in the background too. He never spells out exactly what that bond is, so you can hear it as spiritual, as a trick of memory, or simply as longing, and leaving that door open is a big part of the song’s pull.
Final Thoughts
“Last Life” is a striking first step for Kev Adkins as a solo artist, darker and more mysterious than his past work but every bit as catchy. After years of building other projects, it is good to hear him under his own name.
Follow Kev Adkins
Listen to “Last Life” on Spotify
Instagram | YouTube
What did you think of the single? Stay tuned to MusicOnTheRox.com for all your music news and reviews.
For a new way to discover music, check out app.musicontherox.com.
Thirty seconds. No artist name.
Our app plays you a song with the name hidden, so you decide on the music alone. Swipe right to keep it and the artist is revealed. Everything in it is independent, and nothing can be paid into the feed.
Want a review like this?
Send us your release and our editorial team listens to every one. Every submission is also considered for the Music On The Rox Spotify playlist, at no extra cost.
