Mundo Musique: Sean Rowe - "Madman"

Sean Rowe is a singer-songwriter based out of upstate New York. He plays and writes soulful folk music. His latest album, Madman was just released on Tuesday and is a whirlwind of folk, country, and Americana. Rowe’s voice is full of soul, and it’s no surprise to hear he was inspired by Otis Redding.

From the hearing opening two tracks, “Madman” and “Shine My Diamond Ring”, those who are unfamiliar with Rowe will immediately learn about how versatile he is. “Madman” is gorgeous and slowly paced while “Shine My Diamond Ring” is a real foot-tapping rocker. Throughout the album there’s bluesy rockers like “The Real Thing” and “Done Calling You”. There’s songs like “Desiree” that have that old soul feeling and you can definitely feel that Otis Redding influence. There’s some beautiful tracks as well, “The Game” is a gorgeous duet, and it’s followed up by two more intimate tracks, “The Drive” and “Spiritual Leather”. The album draws to a close with an absolute stunner in “It Won’t Be Long” which features a Rowe and another singer, guitar, and some perfectly placed horns.

Madman is a fantastic record. Those familiar with his Sean Rowe’s will probably dig Madman. If you’re not familiar, there’s a little bit of everything for everyone, he’s got soul like Otis Redding, he’ll create beautiful music like Greg Isakov, he’ll rock like Brown Bird or Gary Clark Jr. Long story short: If you’ve ever been to Newport Folk Festival, you’ll love Madman.