Adam Puddington

I am a deer in the headlights/ I am fish on a hook
I’m a boat out of water/ I’m a car up on blocks
I’m just one half of the scissors/ I’m a cut among the rest
I have no notions of grandeur/ I am provincial at best.

Adam Puddington is one of Almonte, Ontario’s golden sons, and he wears the legacy proudly. Rural Canadiana seeps into his songs, bringing the curious beauty of rivers, wildlife, rosaries and trains. Especially rivers and trains, for Puddington’s Canada is two worlds joined by river and railway. While his sensibilities are firmly rooted in Ottawa Valley soil, maritime themes in songs like “Deer in the Headlights” and “Footprints” hint at Puddington’s ties to Canada’s east coast.

In a sense, Adam Puddington has a foot planted in each place, shaping music that winds its way from Ontario’s Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean. As he sings in “St. Lawrence”: “I’m on my way, tires on pavement, gravel on bone/ the beaten path, rivers and bridges, field and lakes.” This singer-songwriter is both freshfaced and worldworn, telling stories of all-too-certain trials and occasional grace. His craft is wholly original, and warmly familiar. Within his songs, Adam can lead us from grief to a tentative redemption. His warm vocals and stark vulnerability unsettle cynicism, startling us into the possibilities of song.

While on the east coast to attend university, Adam found musical kin in the Halifax scene, performing and recording with the city’s most innovative musicians (including alt-country darlings The Guthries). The Guthries backed Adam on his debut recording, Can’t Sleep This One Off, with members Brian Murray (drums/banjo), Dale Murray (guitar/pedal steel), and Serge Samson (bass/mandolin) joining Ian Mosher (organ/piano) on Puddington’s sophomore effort, for the meantime. Recorded at famed Common Grounds Studios in Halifax (Anne Murray, Rita McNeil, The Rankin Family, Bryan Adams) by Andrew Watt of the Heavy Blinkers, for the meantime has been heralded as a “captivating” and “finely crafted collection” (Exclaim!). Citing its “gorgeously moody, bulletproof songs,” The Halifax Daily News declared it “simply one of the best albums I’ve heard all year.” Adam’s deftly-crafted songs have been covered by many local musicians, including rising national star Matt Mays. Most recently, Mays and Puddington shared an eastern Canadian tour, culminating in performances at the 2006 Juno Awards launch concert (Canada’s Grammys) and a Juno Fest showcase.

While close listening offers traces of Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Young, Ian Tyson and Blue Rodeo, Adam Puddington’s music arises from the carefully tended ground he stands on. A gift to the world, from Almonte, with love.

Contact:
Hay Sale Records
c/o Serge Samson
526 Tower Rd
Halifax, NS
Canada B3H 2X3
(902) 404-1134
www.adampuddington.com, serge@haysalerecords.com

Adam Puddington – for the meantime
Press quotes

Canadian Puddington bears the hallmarks of talent...[T}his one grabbed me... His voice has the bruised caring quality that Damien Jurado has, a perfect voice for narrating misfortune, the songs also have the matter-of-fact devotional quality...[Y]ou’d do well to tuck in to some Puddington."
- David Cowling, www.americana-uk.com

"Exceptional roots music (or is it canadianacana) is still finding it's way down from Canada and the long tradition continues with Adam Puddington. Strong songs are his calling card, sung in a weathered voice with rootsy backup... Occasionally reminiscent of the roots pop of Blue Rodeo or rainy day sounds of Gordon Lightfoot, I find this evocative disc spending a lot of time in my cd player, well beyond the few “review listens” most cds warrant. It's the kind of music that gets in your bones, like a good story or a cold chill." (4&1/2 stars)
- Michael Meehan, www.freighttrainboogie.com

"...there are actual stories intertwined with the lyrical landscapes. And although he's backed competently by cats from the Guthries, who add plenty of clean electric guitars and rolling drums, Puddington's songs sound born of a solitary man, his old reliable guitar and the still country night."
- Jason Richards, Now Magazine June 8 - 14, 2006. Vol. 25

“[T]he poetic Puddington … lean[s] towards folk and Canadiana on his latest disc, offering a refreshing roots record. Filled with succinct and pleasing songwriting, For the Meantime is a captivating collection of 11 songs that grow on you with each subsequent listening session. …[T]he songs that make up this finely crafted collection are sure to give the folk singer wider acclaim.”
- David McPherson, Exclaim!, April, 2006

”Adam Puddington's country songs bleed maple syrup and capture the feeling of Canadiana as if Puddington is fulfilling the life journey of Gordon Lightfoot. His country tales are full of energy… The listener is instantly trapped in Puddington's melodies and they stick with you.”
- Adam Anklewicz, Being There (www.beingtheremag.com)

“Puddington's strong songwriting is at the heart of the resulting disc's 11 songs. His lyrics work equally to progress plots and slide into melodious hooks with an admirable ease. Combining excitement and honesty, his songs hold a coveted familiarity that sits at the core of the best of country music.”
- Matt Charlton, The Coast, Nov, 2005

“This understated 11-song release is simply one of the best albums I’ve heard all year. It has gorgeously moody, [and] bulletproof songs…Puddington crafts solid songs in the fertile ground between folk, rock and country. They sound burnished and familiar straight out of the box. [T]his album breathes with seductive energy. One of the outstanding tracks is Deer in the Headlights, a straight-ahead four chord tune washed in shimmering guitars and Puddington’s skillful wordplay. 4/5 stars.”
- Sandy MacDonald, The Daily News, 2005