It is almost a cliché to say it, but Andrew Farriss was integral to one of the biggest – and best – rock bands of the 1980s and 90s. The thing is, that ability and passion for music never simply disappears. In Farriss’ case, it has taken him somewhere very different.
These days he has reinvented himself as something of a troubadour. With a full-length solo album and an EP already under his belt, The Prospector finds him sounding entirely comfortable in this world of country, Americana and singer-songwriter storytelling.
Recorded with some of Nashville’s finest musicians, the album also features collaborations with writers including Stephen Wilson Jr., Steve Bogard, Leigh Nash, Jess Chalker and Ciaran Gribbin. Yet, for all the talent around him, this feels unmistakably like Farriss’ record.
“Gold Rush To Ghost Town” begins with gorgeous, windswept Americana, his voice dovetailing beautifully with the lap steel guitar. That, really, is what this album is about: songs that breathe, performances that feel natural and stories allowed to unfold without unnecessary embellishment.
“Southern Cross Shines” is simply lovely. The poetry, the acoustics and the line, “the life I leave behind… time moves on and so must I,” all raise the question of how much of this is autobiographical. That thought lingers throughout The Prospector.
The characters in these songs often seem to be searching for something. Escape, perhaps, or in the case of “Rolling Home”, a return to the familiar and the things that matter most. “Honesty” is more uptempo, its guitar work sublime as Farriss searches for hope, change and truth. Maybe the whole album, when you get down to it, is about that search.
The musicianship on “Mending Fences” is superb. Farriss almost speaks parts of it, as though he is reading from a diary while attempting to rebuild something that has been damaged. Then there is “Before You”, and in the nicest possible way these songs do not sound like they were released in 2026. The harmonies have a natural warmth that feels wonderfully timeless.
“Something Stronger” reflects on teenage years but brings a little more rock ’n’ roll barroom grit with it. Hot rods, dodgy bars and memories from a life already lived. “Truth Or Consequences” goes further still. Anytime a harmonica turns up, everything automatically sounds like it is happening on the wrong side of the tracks, and here the lawman’s son is coming after someone for what they did to his daughter. Proper old-fashioned storytelling.
“Someone For Everyone” deals in a sentiment as old as time itself: all you need is love. The violins give it an old-school country feel without ever turning the song into pastiche, while “Looking Everywhere” discusses the restless workings of the mind and does so with the kind of brilliant catchiness that Farriss has spent a lifetime understanding.
“I’ve Got Eyes On It” brings the appropriately lugubrious atmosphere before “I’ll See You Again” closes things with the feeling that these songs have been pulled directly from the fabric of Farriss’ life.
Either that, or he is simply a brilliant storyteller in the grand tradition.
Whatever Andrew Farriss was looking for when he embarked on this section of his career, it sounds as though he has found it. His self-titled debut album arrived five years ago now – and I am not entirely sure how that much time has passed – and it was a statement of intent.
The Prospector sounds more settled. More assured. More like the work of a man who knows precisely where he wants to be.
And given the title, perhaps the metaphor is unavoidable: Andrew Farriss is still searching for gold, but on The Prospector, he sounds awfully close to striking it.
Rating: 8.5/10
