This is gorgeous. Love the harmonies and the understated percussion.

Uh oh, I just realised that I didn't warn people of hand claps in one of my songs, hopefully it was flagged as NSFW! Sad topic, but you've captured it well. Getting some Thom Yorke vibes in your vocals here. Delicate and delightful. Some lovely chord choices, as always. The glock/vibraphone really fills out the palette nicely too.

This is gorgeous, you've written something really melancholy and care-free at the same time. Your lyrics are really straight to the point which adds a punch. Love this song, makes me want to cry.

During FAWM I was in a museum in Madrid looking at Picasso's Guernica, surrounded by school kids, tourists, guides, all bedazzled by the 'Artist'... thanks for adding the perspective of the real woman behind the 'muse', (as so often they are reduced to being mere tools, like the paint or brushes, for the artist's use) I'm gonna go read the book too.

This is absolutely gorgeous. The little dynamic shifts into and out of the chorus are great. Great lyrics too. Top shelf Ad.

That glockenspiel is a healing kiss to the soul. And a striking (lol) contrast to the simmering darkness coming through in the other instrumentation - a hint of the blackness beneath the facade.

The lyric so so tight and poetic, each line a careful brushstroke in itself, a part of a broader narrative but so rich in its own colour and texture.

Edit: The lulluhlahs are my favourite part.

Another morcel of excellence here, Ad. I'm going to listen again straight away! I think having such a summery vibe is a perfect counterpoint to the subject. The lyrics are very economical - squeezing a lot of meaning out of a few lines.

Oh wow, hard hitting topic and a wonderfully sweet and lovely song to carry it. That guitar just grabs you and won't let go (in a very gentle way), but all the other touches add shine and sparkles to the turd of the story origin. Wonderful song that captured me completely. It's a really tough thing to balance and keep straight in your head. Art vs artist is often very complex. I played on a song by a NYC artist a few years back about people like Bowie, Lennon and many others. (Nathan Leigh - 'Most of my heroes are pretty damn problematic' if you feel like hearing more on the subject) This was fantastic from top to bottom but now I'm wondering about you as an artist.... Hmmmmmmmm 😜

This is so lovely, one of your best vocals this year. Love that shaker percussion, and the claps when they come in are great. I like all the bell-sounding keys augmenting that acoustic (which is great by the way), sounds very full despite having a (by your standards) relatively small number of different musical elements

Ok working backwards now i back ;-) And what a lush surprise to go straight into an acoustic ditty of such flowing beauty from your good self. how can this come out of chesy was my first thought ;-) Those chords and the production are simply stunning matey. ooo blissful is all i need say

Why do you need a warning for handclaps you silly sausage? I’ve always thought Picasso was a cunt but he knew how to paint and he did buy Dora Marr a house in Menerbes in the south of France which I visited a few years back. It’s rather nice. I love this song. It’s just brilliant.

Just gorgeous, this is so slinky and jazzy and I love the smooth slide in your vocals on those long notes. The inspiration behind the lyric is great. Makes me think of the Modern Lovers song… “Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole, not like me” except I guess you’re proving him wrong.

I never know what genre I'm going to get when I click on one of your songs. This one is a summer breeze carrying a dark omen behind it. Delightful.

Wow! The liner note got me interested straight away and the song is just amazing! Very clever lyrics. Production is next level! Love the glockenspiel. Your vocals are fantastic.

You are so superbly creative; I always know I will get something interesting and fresh when I hit play on one of your tracks. Love the line “He’s a genius / So of course he’s not saint.” That modulation into the chorus grabbed me by the ear. This is truly great stuff.

Lovely song. very bell-y and verb-y and clappy, sure. But it all works wonderfully. you've got a superb knack for melody and killer production chops, it's always a pleasure

The problem with Picasso is he was always the best - it puts him in the realm of monumental history. I guess that always makes him a great subject - and so expertly critiqued here! The song is total class - laid back holiday sound - thought provoking narrative - nice contrast. love the flow - the groove - gentle but assured/confident - i agree sounds a bit french and jazzy. Great!

oh man, I am so very glad I clicked on this one. The story behind this song is heavy but the way you brought it to life in your style is really fascinating to me. Very nice!!

oh this had a real Mathew Jay (RIP) vibe and I will always go out my way for that.

Top bit of work here, if this is what handclaps bring, please more handclaps!

Breezy instrumentation and a light touch for a heavy topic. Keeping my eye carefully on the jazz leanings in the guitar here but for the moment you get a pass 😀 love the handclaps!

Thank you for the trigger warning 🙏 Like others, I enjoyed the unusually Gallic progression. The music swells and recedes in such an easy way. You make it sound effortless. Assume you’ve seen Hannah Gadsby’s rant/set about Picasso?

Deep question! Is it a good enough excuse, nope! Really good lyrics. Very matter of fact delivery , quite pretty.

The almost carefree sound together with the topic make a brilliant song. Wonderful

This is so beautiful, I love this arrangement. It’s such an interesting way of tackling this, it doesn’t sound sad like you might expect given the subject, it has more personality than that while still telling a dark story. The harmonies are gorgeous!

Oh I love this! Such a deep topic to dive into and you do it wonderfully. The disconnect between the upbeat music and the darker lyrics really showcases how the abuse of popular artists gets so glossed over. The harmonies are beautiful! Really thought-provoking work!

Love this. Especially the Thom Yorke direct lifts 😀 The lyrics have an almost French quality to them (to my ears). 😂 Anyway, it’s intricate and wonderful like your beard ❤️

This is fabulous. The progression (which I love) has an almost French quality to it (to my ears) with all those extended chords. Anyway, that guitar and all the other instrumentation sound superb. Vocals are particularly strong here too. I appreciate I'm listening to everything in the wrong order but this is hands down my fave of yours so far this year! It's so good in fact that I'm going to waste valuable commenting time by playing it again.

The descending glockenspiel/vocal openings are so great. The music builds up in a way that you barely notice until suddenly the 'you need her there, I know' chorus comes in and it's all bouncy and cloud-like levels of airiness. Love the lalala's at the end too!