Solitude

Stu Larsen has long had a nomadic streak, living for years without a permanent place to hang his hat. He leans into that wanderlust on this fourth album, writing a song in a different location each month for a full year. That takes him everywhere from Argentina and Austria to Indonesia and Italy as well as his native Queensland. It’s only natural, then, that the theme of perpetual journeying makes its way into certain lyrics. “I’m running free and I’m content with my choices/Under this vagabond spell,” Larsen sings on “Other Side.” He also explores his discomfort with fame on “If I’m Honest” and taps into his romantic side with “One Thing” and “I’ll Be Your Hallelujah.” The songs’ arrangements vary throughout, ranging from sparse acoustic guitar and piano to headier effects and even the rootsy full-band robustness of “If I Get It Right.” The common thread is Larsen’s keenness to question the infinite details of life, which he knows is fleeting by nature. Across the nine-plus minutes of the closing “Eden,” he makes such thoughts on mortality quite plain: “Guess I keep getting older/Maybe someday soon/All of this could be over.” But we can only hope he’ll log a healthy number of miles before then.