Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There is beauty in regret, there is serenity in empathy, and without either, without experiencing the pang, the fear of losing your soul to outside influences, and yet finding that you require those forces to demand change, to seek assurance that the world can be a better place if we all pull in the same direction, then we are doomed to be forever mournful of the path that we took but which was least resisted.

We can all feel the cage tightening around us, the eyes behind the window watching your every move, the roving mouth and tongue ready to praise or demolish a reputation with the aid of a single thought. We accept it with good grace, we swallow our demons, anger and pride in return for a sense of the positive by those we perceive to run the show; it is human instinct to bow our heads, no matter how revolutionary we show the world we are, but deep down we understand that no matter the village, the city, In This Town You’re Owned.

For Rob Vincent, the tone of his music has always been that subtly burrows its way into the mind, that doesn’t cut corners as it deals with the emotions of his heart and the world’s views; the artist understands that empathy is the crowned king when it comes to relationship of the one in the spotlight and those that surround him, be they supporters, or those that peek behind the curtains taking notes, empathy for the crowded thought is to be honoured, and quite honestly there are few that carry the weight of such thought with greater magnitude than Rob Vincent.

The town members that see Mr. Vincent through the multitude of songs, such as The Kids Don’t Dig God Anymore, Husk Of A Soul, I Was Hurt Today But I’m Alright Now, the excellent My Neighbour’s Ghost and the finale of Cuckoo, readily take their place by the artist’s side and allow him to cover even more ground, even more interaction with the thoughts circling like eagles on the wing, and with the exceptional Anna Corcoran, Adrian Gautry, Ethan Johns, Jim Kimberley, Danny Williams and Robbie Taylor, what transpires is an artist who has moved in step with his own passion and desires, without surrendering his integrity and embracing his honour to its fullest and most breath-taking conclusion.

In This Town You’re Owned is an album of insight, or thought and of upright persuasion, virtues you would always expect from someone like Rob Vincent, but which are always made more enjoyable for the musician and artist continuing to hold them dear.

Ian D. Hall