Addy is the recording project of Adam Watkins from Richmond, Virginia. Along with a selection of friends, Watkins recorded an album in his bedroom across the span of a week, which resulted in Rose Eyes, released back in November on Citrus City Records. The process might have been low-key, though represented an act of catharsis and healing for Watkins, and digging into the record, it becomes clear why.
The release opens with ‘supermarket’, a track that manages to sound triumphant despite its restrained nature, pinpointing the tiny joys with small moments that can shine against personal strife. ‘china bus’ has a more dreamy feel, wider and more expansive yet coloured by a morose edge, while ‘glow v.2’ is a delicate ode to delicate feelings, something precious presented with sensitive care in a way not unlike that of Valley Maker.
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‘bug’ is a collision of bright sparks and melancholic stretches, the result a wistful song that finds comfort within itself own pain. Which is not to say that there’s anything self-indulgent or self-pitying here, the songs not romanticizing sadness but reminding us that beauty is possible in spite of it. The idea forms the central pillar of the Addy sound, and closer ‘magnolia’ is a fitting conclusion. Pushing as far as the record does in a purely folk direction, the song presents sorrow and joy side by side, the pensive lyrics lifted by glimmering instrumentation that warms the whole thing through—offering a vision of rebirth that can heal the deepest wounds.
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Rose Eyes is out now and you can buy it now from the Addy Bandcamp page., where half of the profits from the digital sales will be donated to Planned Parenthood.
Cover artwork by Keven Zweerink, photo by Farrah Fox