The single opens up with strums of an acoustic guitar, soon joined by Faulks’ folksy voice: “As the ships roll in, yeah, I’m headed inland. You’re the calling thing in my head.” The London-based singer/somgwriter has just released the song yesterday.

Instantly, the song jumps into a realm of memory. “Though the truth it’s hard, it’s all we’ve got to face. ”

Initially, the song seems about a break up or division of some kind. If the ship imagery is to be taken literally, the separation is forced, but the song eventually tells another story. To the strums, Faulks sings: “Yeah I like that. When you hold me slow. And yeah I know that it’s just a phase but even so.” So, is it lost love, or continuous love?

“I wrote “It  Rains” about a dying but once great relationship. All we do now is fight and get back together again; with the memories of the glory days being the only thing bringing us back to each other.” The answer is, it’s a dying love. “The love is still there but I realize it’s no longer helping either of us, but rather taking over our days and nights with worry, anger, and fear.”

Somehow, “It Rains” is both a love song and a dirge. While maintaining a sense of optimism through romantic nostalgia, the songwriter is clear to iterate that the love is dying. Not sick, but dying. Even so, the song keeps a fair balance between positive and negative emotions.

The tempo of the song is medium/slow, fast enough to keep our interest but not particularly energizing. In time, violins enter the fray along with the acoustic guitar and Faulk’s voice, adding a flow to the rhythm that carries the song to the end.

Faulks initially splashed onto the music scene under the pseudonym ‘Tenterhook,’ though his reemergence under his given name adds to the sense of genuineness with which “It Rains” pulses. Like the song, Faulks has returned to media attention as a more stripped back, truthful being, and showing true, ambivalent emotions.

There’s an underlying sense of honesty that courses along with “It Rains,” a sense that is becoming more and more rare in a hyper synthetic music industry. Faulks’ debut single is hopefully a harbinger for more, similar tunes to come.

Archie Faulks will play his first ever headline show at London’s Servant Jazz Quarters on September 4^th. Tickets are on-sale now via https://www.musicglue.com/archiefaulks