A guitar player and singer from the Netherlands, Rudy Brinkman has all the chops and lyrical talent to tell a compelling story. Down For The Count, his full-length record, has no less than eight of these — and most of them have something to do with a woman. He Stopped Loving Her Today is the broken-hearted man’s musical manifesto, and the bluesy/country goods don’t stop here.

The record is solid through and through, with Rudy’s voice taking just a little bit of time to settle in before you are up singing along to his soulful tunes. If the music gets your voice singing and your feet stomping, there must be something to it, right?

Otherwise, there’s not a whole lot going on in this album. Rudy likes to keep things simple and barebones, which really works for the moods and feelings he wants to express. Down For The Count is as far from overproduced as it can possibly get without sounding trashy.

We are always grateful for artists like Rudy who don’t mind sharing themselves unabashedly while showcasing some perfectly good songwriting along the way. We hope you have gotten over her for good, Mr. Brinkman!