Adam Green - Gemstones [20th Anniversary Reissue]

As intrinsic to the Manhattan soul as the rumble of the subway, the grime of the Lower East Side or the ornate baroque glamour of the midtown blocks housing Ghostbusters’ ghouls, Adam Green’s music is as timeless as New York itself. Echoing through the depths of its dark lore, yet still relevant on sidewalks washed clean by gentrification, the singer-songwriter’s music not only invokes his hometown, but it captures the unique confusion and connection of life within a city: the awkwardness and the adventure, the love affairs and the loneliness, the society and the separation.

His 2005 solo album Gemstones, a sort of musical reply to Bright Lights, Big City, is firmly rooted in the Big Apple, its rockabilly rhythms rattle with the L-Train, its melodies hit like a fresh cross street gust, but whether you’ve visited New York or not its brisk, affecting songs will resonate with anyone who knows what it is like to be alone amongst the crowd.