Welsh songwriter Tom Emlyn returns with Rich Man's Robin Hood, a self-produced single out on 20 November via Dirty Carrot Records. The press release describes it as acerbic and post-punk tinged, an exploration of political anger, dissatisfaction and inequality.
It was first written during the years of Tory rule, which at the time felt neverending, and Tom reckons its themes are more relevant than ever. "Greed never goes out of style", as the release puts it. The sound is built on droning, angular electric guitar and electronic motorik drums, with words that feel chanted rather than sung, as if the song takes place at a political rally.
Tom says: "The lyrics aim to personify a spirit of avarice and unfairness, a reversed or alternate Robin Hood figure, stealing from the poor to give to the rich. Which actually is how the world works. We don't live in a meritocracy." The words were originally set to much folkier, strummier music, but he felt that was too obvious and risked sounding preachy, so it became a surrealistic indie rock arrangement with a sprechgesang delivery in the style of Black Country New Road or The Fall.
A song that starts life as a strummy folk number and gets thrown out because it's too obvious is the kind of detail that makes me glad to back this one. Add a Cardiff songwriter who has been called Wales' most prolific musician and is still happy to rework a song until it fits, and I'm very happy to recommend Rich Man's Robin Hood.
Tom's frequent collaborator Egg Spectrum supplied the programmed electronic drums, and various psychedelic overdubs were added to the soundscape, including the crash of a spring reverb being whacked.
Tom Emlyn is a Swansea native now based in Cardiff, described by BBC Radio Wales' Adam Walton as a "peripatetic musical genius". He released five albums between 2022 and 2025, and God Is In The TV has called him "Wales' most prolific musician". Clash Magazine says he's becoming "a bit of a cult favourite here in Wales", and he has shared stages with Gruff Rhys, Charlotte Church, Gwenno, Dafydd Iwan and The Levellers.
Fans of The Fall, Tom Waits and Bob Dylan are the ones the press release points to. You can find more from Tom on Bandcamp: https://tomemlyn.bandcamp.com/