STEVEN Adams had become stuck in a rut in The Broken Family Band and so the “broken” part of that name came to pass, and he has re-emerged with some South London accomplices in Singing Adams. Hence the album title to signify a new start.

The country constrictions of his old band have followed Adams’s long-discarded faux American accent into the out tray, replaced by a more straightforward amalgam of indie-fuelled rock and folk songwriting in the manner of the similarly sharp-tongued Chris T-T. Recorded at The Sick Room in Norfolk – how very Adams that is – this self-produced album lives up to his wishes to have you “coming away from this record feeling happy and sad at the same time”.

His wit has that effect, applied to a unifying theme of breaking away from the past while broadening his scope from boy-girl matters to wider relationships. Make friends with this album now.