Adam Franklin

2008 saw Oxford England's Adam Franklin up to his proverbial neck in work. Spending the beginning of the year on tour supporting his first solo album and then a NXNE spawned reunion tour with Swervedriver, Franklin's year ended with a pair of Swervie reissues and an EP and LP with Interpol's Sam Fogarino as Magnetic Morning. Spent Bullets, Franklin's follow-up solo LP, is a shift away from his hurly-burly days, as the LP exhibits his most tranquil and blushing tracks to date. Although songs like "Autumn Leaf" and "Two Dollar Dress" still feature taffy-pulled guitar tones with druggy melodies, Spent Bullets represents Franklin as an artist in respite. Rather than prodding or pushing, sounds are drawn in and out like a breath as Adam worries much less about traditional structure, focusing on moods and modes instead. Spent Bullets may not bring Adam Franklin the same attention 2008 did but it trumps anything he's created in the last 12 months.