A piano is a very versatile thing. You can use it to play jaunty tunes or gentle ballads; intricate sonatas or simple nursery rhymes. Sadly, Stuart Robertson, has neglected to make use the piano’s full potential with this album, and instead uses it simply as an instrument with which to examine and express his angst. This is a collection of stolid piano driven songs that find him primarily in a self-pitying or, at best, self-reflective mood. Despite this, some evidence of Robertson’s talent as a songwriter can be found. The album closes with an alternate version of one track, ‘Slipping’. While the original take is clunky and staid, this mix, which is called the ‘piano version’, is a significant improvement. It’s far more delicate; the plodding piano chords are replaced by more intricate arpeggios and riffs, which offset the vocals far more successfully. It’s a pity that this track is only half the length of the duller original, and even more of the pity that there isn’t a ‘piano version’ of the whole of ‘Years Between Us’.
