Unkle Bob - The Deepest Sea (2016)

Rick Webster (aka Unkle Bob) returns with The Deepest Sea. This mini-album is by far his best work to date and the documentation of a journey that took him to Ghana, Iceland and the Highlands of Scotland.

After three independent album releases, European and North American tours and a burgeoning online fanbase, Unkle Bob (the band) called it a day. But as principal songwriter, the music wasn’t quite finished with Rick.

A music project in Africa organised by Glasgow’s Green Door Studios would lead Rick to meet Eilidh Mcmillan (Breakfast Muff/ Rapid Tan/ Jealous Girlfriend) who provides backing vocals on Trust, and while working alongside Ghanaian musicians rediscovered a fire to start making music. After Africa, Rick took some time to himself in Iceland. Alone, he began to pen what would be bones of The Deepest Sea. He finished recording the album in Loch Tay on minimal recording equipment where he rented space in a barn.

The album draws influence from Sun Kil Moon, Sigor Ros, Bon Iver and has an analogue, raw feel to the production thanks to Green Door studio’s producer Samuel J Smith who mixed and mastered The Deepest Sea. Tracks such as Trust embody the haunting melancholy featured throughout this mini-album which then has bursts of fuzz, grunge and pop adding extra power. Maybe Mediocrity has a euphoric quality, resonating on every note and makes one reflect on where they’ve been and where they’re going. The inspirational ending of the track invokes both the idea of failure and not giving up.