“A body of work full of calm, big spaces, shifting ruminative atmospheres and true beauty,” was how I described Silence, the debut album from Tom Adams in 2017. It was one of my favourite records of the year and to this day remains a hidden gem; one of those records that is still screaming, or rather sighing, to be discovered.
But Adams hasn’t been resting on his laurels. A new album Yes, Sleep Well Death is waiting in the wings and taken from it is this piece of absolute splendour. Dive is a huge statement of intent - a wide-screen and cinematic piece that clocks in at just over 8 minutes long, but never feels like that - frankly it could be 16 minutes and it would still seem too short. Starting from gentle burbling ambient and soft-synth beginnings with choir boy vocals that carry a similarity to Jónsi Birgisson of Sigur Rós the song breaks out halfway through, where rather like the aforementioned Icelandic avant-rock band's best work, Dive launches into the stratosphere with a huge volcanic punch. It's incredibly good. Hoppipolla move over.
Tom doesn’t play many live shows (I was lucky to catch him in Brighton in 2017) but he has confirmed three UK gigs in Norwich, Cambridge and London for November. Go and see him if you get the chance.
Tom Adams - Dive
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