Australian singer-songwriter Stu Larsen has released his new album, Solitude.
By Eleanor Banyard
Feature photo by Jessie McCall
During the creation of the album, Larsen visited one location per month for an entire year, dedicating himself entirely to his song writing and the filming of his performance videos. These locations included New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Scotland, England, Austria, Germany, Italy, Canada, USA, and Argentina.
Larsen states: “I live my life very nomadically; I haven’t had a home in two decades. So, I tried to come up with a creative way to spend a year writing and demo’ing these tracks. I was completely alone, crafting twelve songs in twelve locations over twelve months.”
The album’s opening track Misty Morning (created in New Zealand) introduces Larsen’s calm instrumentals and soothing voice which permeate the album. The track is described as encapsulating “the beginning and end of [a] potential relationship.”
Xanadu (made in Tasmania) begins with a light guitar strum that melts into the background, creating a serene tone accompanied by soft contemplative and melancholic vocals.
Shelter is a deeply sorrowful song with a gentle guitar instrumental and poignant lyrics such as “In the darkness of the night when you wanna cross that line just come home.” Larsen notes that this song is “dedicated to those who need encouragement to keep going and not succumb to negative thoughts.”
Other Side slightly shifts the tone of the album with a more upbeat and positive energy. The instrumentals are more pronounced, mixing in with clear vocals about the intertwining of humanity. “Cos everyone walks a different way, all tangled up in this mysterious life, we’re all the same at the end of the day.” This positive yet serene mood continues with One Thing which is centered around the search for love.
Leskernick Hill and The Shadow are more tranquil tracks that revert to the original, melancholic deep-thinking established at the beginning of the album. I’ll be your Hallelujah, a track just under seven minutes long created in Argentina, is another gentle piece. It combines harmonicas, pianos, and guitar melodies alongside quiet, serene vocals which allow the lyrics to truly weigh upon the listener.
Larsen hopes “listeners are encouraged to turn off their phones, to disconnect, for whatever time is possible or appropriate, and simply see what happens” and Solitude certainly provides the perfect soundtrack for that.
As for Larsen himself, he “can’t wat to hit the road with a guitar or two, connect with people everywhere, and share these songs and this message with a crowd each night.” If you want to keep up to date with what he’s doing, you can by heading to his website, and by following him on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
Solitude is out now, and you can listen to it below.
