Paul Arendt tries to make sense of a maddening world with his concept album Forty Years in Babylon, and its single, Theo.

By Graeme Smith

Theo takes the form of a conversation between two people with different ways of seeing the world. Right from the off, it draws you in with Paul’s frenetic finger-plucking, characterful vocals and storytelling lyrics. The song is something of a standout, influenced by blues and Americana rather than the global folk of the album’s other tracks.

Unconventionally, it has no chorus but the verses are so vivid that the track never wants for one. It rattles along, infused with humour, before arriving at a pleasing conclusion.

Forty Years in Babylon is out now and you can give it a listen below.