Nick Corbin - Sweet Escape

  by Dave Goodwin

published: 13 / 7 / 2020

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Nick Corbin was brought up with soul music constantly playing in the background, thanks to his father’s love for the genre and obsessive collecting of rare records. An early visit to London’s iconic 100 Club for a Northern Soul all-nighter inspired Nick to pen 'The Big A.C', a tribute to what Nick saw as “the ultimate underground.” It went on to become his then band New Street Adventure’s best-loved song. Until February 2018, Nick was the singer and main songwriter in New Street Adventure, who released two albums, 'No Hard Feelings' in 2014 and 'Stubborn Sons' in 2017'on the infamous Acid Jazz label. This debut solo outing begins with the rather soulful mid-tempo’d title track, which features lashings of horn and bass along with some strong keys. Corbin's voice is strong with a clear accent and comparisons to Paul Weller and, more recently, Tom Misch have frequently been made. 'Can We Do It Again?' is a crooned, slow Style Council type number, while 'Sunshine' is even more Council drenched. Think of 'It Didn’t Matter'. The album reached the halfway point and I found myself asking where was the Northern Soul influence, but then 'Never Did' kicked in and I got quite excited. 'Thought It Through', however, is an Elton John soundalike and reminiscent of 'Bennie and the Jets'. One of the strongest tracks for me on this is 'Don’t Break the Mould', which has some sublime mid-tempo percussion and gorgeous backing vocals that compliment Corbin to the hilt. 'It Alright' will go down well on the floors of the modern Northern Soul dancefloors as will the last track, and my own personal favourite, 'Can't Say Goodbye', with its Philly intro and backings. Over the years New Street Adventure received critical acclaim from the likes of Q Magazine (4/5 stars for 'Stubborn Sons') and The Guardian’s Tim Jonze, who praised Nick as having “an innate understanding of classic soul songwriting”. Despite the soulful roots in Nick’s music, his voice remains distinctive and unmistakable, but it’s the hints of Northern Soul that makes this album this shine through.

Track Listing:-

1 Sweetest Escape
2 Long Long Gone
3 Can We Do It Again?
4 Sunshine In
5 Gotta Get Back To You
6 Never Did Look Like Love
7 Thought It Through
8 Don't Break The Mould
9 It's Alright To Change Your Mind
10 I Need Reminding
11 Can't Say Goodbye

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