Australian Folk singer, Adam Newling, has once again proved himself to be an introspective yet humorous juggernaut in the scene with his new EP Love Takes Care Pt. 2.
The direct sequel to Adam Newling’s Love Takes Care, from back in 2024, is a brilliant step up in terms of songwriting.
He’s kept the mostly acoustic production that made that EP special and turned it into a beautiful 26 minutes of music where he is unapologetically himself.
The EP was written with Scott O’Connell of Durham Recording Studios. In a recent Instagram post, Newling spoke on the story behind the EP and how O’Connell helped him break out of a slump he was feeling in his music career.
“Over the years, I’ve started to feel a bit disenfranchised with what I guess you’d call my music career,” said Newling,
“Once I got down the rabbit hole of doing what I love for crust, I think I forgot that it was meant to be my happy place and my therapy. I became pretty mechanical.”
Love Takes Care Pt. 2 is clearly an EP written by someone with a newfound love for music; it really does show through the level of care given to these tracks, which are mainly just vocals and guitar for the most part.
For me, the standout track is ‘Pacific Highway Talking Blues,’ stripped back to just acoustic guitar and vocals.
The lyrics are quite gripping, despite how humorous and ramble-y it can get at times “or could’ve been a chicken, that I said I’d cook last night, I served it up on your plate, but that thing it still could fly… yes, I’m very aware that a chicken is a flightless bird” it makes the song feel authentic and whimsical, reminiscent of a young Bob Dylan.
There’s a real sense of true, Working Class Australiana throughout many of these tracks. With songs like ‘Pop’s Old Malvern Star’ really bringing up a visceral image of this dusty old iconic Australian bike.
Newling has proved time and time again that he’s the real king of worldbuilding.
He knows exactly how to paint the perfect picture in your head of what he’s conveying through his words alone.
That’s a skill that really takes years to master in all forms of literature.
All-in-all, Love Takes Care Pt. 2 is a great record and well worth giving a listen.
