Barry Adamson - I Will Set You Free (LP) - Blue Curacao Vinyl

Barry Adamson has worn a lot of hats, from anchoring Magazine’s low-end throb to adding menace to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and then carving out a remarkable solo career where he more or less plays the band himself. By the time he released I Will Set You Free in 2012, he had already proved he could score your favourite imaginary film. This one leans into songs with a swagger that feels lived in, less like a set of noir vignettes and more like a late-night radio broadcast from a city that never sleeps. It arrived on his own Central Control International label and, as ever, you can hear the autonomy. He knows exactly what he wants out of these grooves.

If you know Barry from Moss Side Story or Oedipus Schmoedipus, the cinematic DNA is still in the bloodstream. But the hook writing is front and centre. The single Black Holes in My Brain is a tidy entry point, a tight, bass-first strut with a vocal that feels confessional and theatrical at once. He has a knack for sounding like a hardboiled narrator and a torch singer in the same breath. That duality gives the album its pull. One moment you get a tough rhythm section that hints at post punk muscle, the next you’re sliding into soul chords that would not be out of place on a classic pop record.

Adamson produced and arranged the record himself, and his multi-instrumental fingerprints are everywhere. That matters here because these songs rely on detail. The horns don’t blare, they smirk. The guitars don’t dominate, they peacock in the corners and sit back. He has always been a master of mood, and on I Will Set You Free he uses that craft to lift the choruses rather than just paint scenery. It is not sparse, yet nothing feels ornamental. The drums, often dry and up close, keep your ear on the pocket while the bass does the storytelling.

There is a through-line from his past to this set that makes sense. You can hear the same sharp ear that landed him on the Lost Highway soundtrack back in the day, and the confidence of someone who earned a Mercury Prize nomination for Soul Murder. The difference is the directness. He is writing songs that want to stand up on stage rather than flicker in a cinema. That makes the record an easy recommendation for anyone who likes their noir with a pulse you can dance to.

Spin it on a decent system and the low end is the clincher. This is where Barry Adamson vinyl shines, with the bass warm and present and the midrange glued together in a way that flatters his voice. If you’re crate-digging in a Melbourne record store, keep an eye out for I Will Set You Free vinyl. It is a strong gateway into his catalogue for friends who know the name but haven’t taken the plunge, and it sits neatly next to the earlier classics without feeling like a retread. For those who buy Barry Adamson records online, it is one of those titles that rewards repeat plays, especially late at night when the room gets quiet and the rhythm section can breathe.

Critics picked up on the shift at the time, with UK press noting the bite in the songwriting and the cool precision of the production. Fans tend to circle back to Black Holes in My Brain as a set highlight, and for good reason, but the album holds together as an arc. The sequencing is tight, the tempos move just enough, and Adamson’s narrator persona threads through like a crooked grin. You can tell he is having fun being the frontman again. It is charismatic without tipping into pastiche.

If you collect Barry Adamson albums on vinyl, this is a keeper that bridges his filmic instincts and his pop smarts. It also makes a fine companion to his later Know Where to Run from 2016, which pushed the band feel even further. He is one of those artists who can make a small studio feel like a widescreen set, then pull you into the booth with a whisper and a bassline. That balance is what sets I Will Set You Free apart in his catalogue. It is not a greatest-hits package and it is not a genre exercise. It is a confident, song-first record from a lifer who knows exactly how to make every bar count.

And if you are browsing vinyl records Australia wide and weighing up where to start with Adamson, this is a smart buy. The songs stick, the sonics hit the body, and the stories have that smoky glow that keeps you leaning in. It sounds like midnight, in the best way.