As a fellow Yorkshireman who also spent several years living and breathing music in North London, I find Quarterman’s latest album ‘Carondelet’ vivid and relatable. There’s a cathartic nostalgia to the album as he skilfully weaves together tales of adventure and romance whilst living in the capital. 

The album has a good balance of songs, drawing on personal experience as well as approaching contemporary global issues through narrative folk tales. In the track ‘Bonnie’ he eloquently tells the story of a free spirited, wistful summer romance which is followed in stark contrast by ‘O Fisherman’ which delves into the tragedy of asylum seekers making the dangerous and desperate journey across the Mediterranean Sea.

He clearly puts a lot of thought into his lyrics, making it an album which demands your attention. With five tracks of the album weighing in at over five minutes long it also requires your full concentration if you really want to discover the depths of the album.

The production is beautiful, and each song has its own crystalline sound. It´s a set of songs which Quarterman has meticulously pieced together over many years, allowing each track to occupy its own thematic and sonic sphere. I’d thoroughly recommend this album to listeners who are keen on the contemporary lyricism of the likes of Frank Turner, but whose ears might sympathise more with the arrangements and instrumentation of Neil Young and Donovan.

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Review by Robin Timmis