Hi. How are things?

It’s a simple enough question, but if it’s one you would answer with a mere sentence then it’s likely you have less of a creative streak than Andy White.

Mind you, the Belfast singer/songwriter is, to be fair, a genius.

Since his last album, much has happened. For one thing, his marriage ended – and, in answer to the constant stream of what was essentially the same question: “How are things?” White decided to title the album How Things Are.

With this in mind, songs such as All It Does Is Rain carry an overbearing weight. It’s all honest, though. White is still the great storyteller he has always been; in fact, if you play his last record, 21st Century Troubadour, and this one back to back, the transition’s almost seamless – the last track builds to the rocky intro of this album’s opener Driftin’ in a manner that’s uncanny.

These are the rewards of following the career of someone like White.

Rob Lavender, February 2014