Inspired by guitar heroes such as Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, and Neil Young, as well as the eclectic production of David Bowie, Andrew Robertson Is… is the debut solo album from Natural Born Actor.

By Graeme Smith

A London, UK and Berlin, Germany native, Andrew Robertson is a multi-instrumentalist who has worked with Higamos Hogamos, Youth (Killing Joke), Zodiac Youth and the Slits’ Viv Albertine, among many others. His stage name, Natural Born Actor, refers to his other career as an actor which saw him take the lead role in the 1993 film The Cement Garden and play Titus Groan in the BBC’s 2000 production of Gormenghast.

He’s come to my attention for the first time through his debut album Andrew Robertson Is… Though it’s a solo project, the album features a cavalcade of contributions, including Matt Ingram on drums, Bah Kane Seck (Babba Maal) and Mizo Gamal on percussion, Daniel Bödvarsson on guitar, Alex Ward on saxophone, Steve Webster on processing and synthesized tambourine, Sean Phillips, Ben Harrison on trumpet, and Amelie Hinrichsen on her self-designed avant-garde illuminated instrument called the PushPull.

Musically, Andrew gives us a classic warmth across the album. Swaggering moments like album openers Steve Jobs Song and Fearless are tempered by more intimate, acoustic moments like Run Forever and Perfect Guy. Title track Natural Born Actor punches hard with licks of sax and plenty of surrealism in its lyrics. The Bowie influences come through strong in that one.

The album’s second half builds nicely through the bombastic Black Dragon, the confessional Decadent Heart and the airy, reggae-esque Wings to its crescendo, which comes in the form of vibrant and folksy album closer Black Water.

The range of styles on display across this debut is impressive, and they’re all tied together ably by strong songwriting and a chance-taking uniqueness. It’s lovely stuff.

Andrew Robertson Is… is out now, available to buy on Bandcamp. You can give it a listen below.