Raised on his native Scottish pub sing-around culture but also finding influence in the timeless works of classic American songwriters, rising singer-songwriter Tommy Ashby presents his own personal and profoundly soulful inflection of these traditions; never more so than on his intimate and spine-tingling latest cut, ‘Bowlegged’. Centred around Ashby’s agile vocals and sparingly-plucked acoustic guitar, the track is augmented by its atmospheric recording in which you can actually hear the hail pelting down on the roof of Ashby’s makeshift studio. Indeed, and to quote its central lyric, Ashby’s dulcet ‘Bowlegged’ leaves you entirely ‘bleary-eyed and breathless’. Speaking of the single himself, Ashby asserts that “The lyrical idea of Bowlegged is that people are often not happy with their lot; they feel like outsiders and have an overwhelming urge to fit in, even if what they are fitting into is absurd or at least not all that great. But as long as someone else is doing it too then they don’t feel so stupid”. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for Ashby’s Restless Love EP due July 20^th. We certainly will be. -Karl Jawara