Richard Walters : 'True Love Will Find You In The End'
Released: 20th July 2009
Label: Kartel
‘True Love Will Find You in the End’ says Richard Walters. Very reassuring that may well be to many of you, but I’m afraid it’s the kind of song title that sends shivers down my spine and has me pre-emptively reaching for the big book of slurs I keep in my drawer. Was I right to be so damning without even putting it on? I think rule one of writing critiques is to not form any opinions until sampling that which you are reviewing, but it’s surely the hardest to obey, so judgemental are we human-types.
Richard Walters is 23 and from Oxford, a man whose 2004 debut EP ‘Umbrella Songs’ gained praise for being, well, lovely. Favourably compared to compatriots Damien Rice and, whisper it, James Blunt, Walters has a reputation for beautiful if straight-forward lyrics bedded into quaint melodies and delivered with a simple, precise vocal. In listening to ‘True Love Will Find You in the End’ I’d say that’s a fair assessment, for this is a song that is as bare and as blatant as its title, one repeated throughout, a song that relies almost entirely on those ingredients cited.
In past articles I’ve spoken about how important it is for me to not compare every record with its predecessor, but I think with this type of one-man-one-guitar song the only way to assess it’s potential is to put it alongside contemporaries and see which stands taller – can Richard Walters emulate or better the successes of Damien Rice, a man whose album ‘O’ in particular gained thoroughly deserving acclaim. The answer, if this single alone is the best Richard Walters holds within his locker, is not quite. At only two-and-a-half minutes in length, the beauty of the song is clear but the emotion that should dominate is oddly subdued, especially considering the songs title and supposed hope. To me the lyrics and the title work separately to the melody, it is a song that, lyrics aside, is provocative instead of inspirational – at least that’s what it sounds like to me. The vocal is undeniably good and soft enough to represent fragility and the construction of the song is simple but effective, it just doesn’t go beyond the basic foundations of what it is meant to be to fulfil what it could be – it is a simple love song, nothing more and nothing less.
I must confess that this is the first time I’ve heard the work of Walters and it surely will not be the last – the one thing I can say for certain from this record is that it is too soon to be writing off a man with obvious talent and untapped potential. It will be interesting therefore to see how he develops as he grows older and, hopefully, grows into his latent ability to provide something more encapsulating. His work is the sort that could surely line the soundtrack playlists of many a teen drama if he can open it up that little bit more and really find the soul within it.
As it stands, ‘True Love Will Find You in the End’ is unconvincing, and it’s the sort of topic people need convincing about.
6/10
Words: Benjamin Coley
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