Karl Deeter: Far Far Away review – Gorgeous and smart-shaped songs

Dublin-based Karl Deeter is known primarily as a mortgage brokerage/financial market expert, but whatever spare time he has he devotes to writing, recording and performing music.

The man is reasonably prolific and so with that comes varying levels of quality, a factor that has had irksome consequences for previous albums such as 2017’s Cracked Up and 2018’s Black Sheep, of which respective attributes ebbed and flowed somewhat.

With Far Far Away, however, Deeter has cracked the nut.

The stylistic criterion here is agile British pop/folk, the kind that blends The Housemartins/Beautiful South with Pentangle and less traditional parts of Fairport Convention. Some songs are, quite simply, gorgeous and very smartly shaped.

Life is a Curious Thing touches on generational shifts and social changes from youth-to-adult vantage points; the genteel Always by your Side betrays Dylanesque influences (as well as Deeter’s occasional habit of trying to cram too many words into a line); It’ll do Me, Beautiful Morning, and You Make me Smile are, equally, durable, impeccable folk/pop tunes.

Exposed, heartfelt lyrics only add to the album’s insightful charm. My learned advice? You’re as safe as houses with this one.

[ karldeeter.com ]