Album of the Month - December 2025
Released on December 5th, 2025, A Little Love is an intimate folk record running just under 30 minutes across nine tracks. Built almost entirely around acoustic guitar, the album leans heavily into a classic folk and soft acoustic rock aesthetic. Alongside fingerstyle and strummed guitars, we hear piano, harmonica, mandolin, banjo, bass, and gentle touches of lap steel and electric guitar, always subtle, always in service of the acoustic core.
Listening to Adam Simons feels like stepping into the past. The sounds, the arrangements, and the songwriting all recall classic folk traditions, with a warmth that never feels forced. One of the most interesting choices across the album is the intentional alternation between fingerstyle and strummed songs, giving the record a natural sense of movement and contrast while keeping the acoustic guitar firmly at the center.
A Little Love
The title track opens the album with a gentle, almost weightless touch. A fingerstyle acoustic guitar carries the song, supported by lap steel, bass, and piano that slowly bloom around the melody. It’s an intimate introduction that immediately frames the record as emotional rather than performative.
Hold You in the Morning
Here the album leans into a more traditional folk language. Strummed acoustic guitar drives the song, while harmonica interludes give it a nostalgic, roots-influenced flavor. The presence of piano, mandolin, and soft electric guitar adds depth without breaking the acoustic spell. It feels like a morning song in the purest sense: calm, reassuring, and familiar.
Garden
One of the absolute highlights of the album and easily one of my favorite songs of 2025, not only because of the references to Italy and Spain. “Garden” is completely stripped back, resting on a loose fingerstyle arpeggio that leaves plenty of air between the notes. There’s nowhere to hide here, just voice and guitar, and that’s exactly why it works so well.
Little Bit of Gold
Built around strummed acoustic guitars, piano, and subtle lap steel, this track carries a brighter emotional tone. It shares a similar sonic world with “Hold You in the Morning,” but feels slightly lighter and more optimistic. The arrangement is simple but effective, giving the melody room to unfold naturally.
Edge of the World
A more atmospheric moment. Dreamy fingerstyle guitars intertwine with soft lap steel, creating a floating, spacious soundscape. The track feels reflective and inward-looking, as if suspended between movement and stillness. One of the songs where the production choices most clearly serve the emotional atmosphere.
Desert Flowers
This track returns to a gentle, flowing folk form. Strummed acoustic guitars, piano, and lap steel work together to create a warm and tender backdrop. It fits perfectly into the album’s emotional pacing, reinforcing the sense of continuity and softness that defines the record.
TV Dinner
The second and final completely stripped-back song on the album. Like “Garden,” it features a loose fingerstyle arpeggio, but here it alternates with sections of strumming, giving the track a slightly more dynamic feel. There’s something deeply intimate about this one: everyday imagery wrapped in a quietly emotional delivery.
First to Fade
The fullest arrangement on the record. Strummed acoustics, harmonica, drums, bass, and lap steel create a richer texture, and this is the only track to feature the banjo, which adds a beautiful traditional folk color. Despite the expanded instrumentation, the song remains grounded and cohesive with the rest of the album.
Somewhere in Between
More spoken poem than song, this closing track strips away melody almost entirely. It’s a final moment of stillness that invites the listener to sit with the emotional weight of the album rather than resolve it.
A Little Love is a gentle, nostalgic and beautifully coherent record, an album that proves how powerful acoustic songwriting can be when every instrument, every choice, and every silence serves the emotion of the song.