Quarry – ‘Positioning The Sun’ [Album Review]

London-based indie-pop/rock artist Quarry, aka Vittorio Tolomeo, releases his new album, Positioning The Sun, via Lowfieye Records.

Speaking about the album, Quarry shares, “I wanted to make an eclectic album. I started writing a sort of soundtrack to an imaginary movie. But then I realized that I was locked into my tiny home studio with this new pandemic disease bursting into planet earth, and I was writing songs about isolation, distance, separation. It was the soundtrack of that particular time. Pandemic permeated the album with a sense of loneliness and concern, and when it was almost finished, the outbreak of war in Ukraine made the songs more relevant, and new ones flowed quickly.”

Encompassing 11-tracks, Positioning The Sun begins with “Beyond Any Sense,” pushing out alt-rock flavours merged with retro savours as Quarry’s distinctive voice gives the lyrics a sensation of uneasiness.

Entry points on the album include “This Is The Story,” a song about two friends talking. One is depressed and sinking into a black hole, while the other tries to steer him away from the darkness. Gentle and full of latent tautness, the track smoulders with low-slung, seething tones.

“New City Comes Along” enters the zone of alt-rock, conjuring up suggestions of The Killers because of its fierce percussion and wonderfully inflected vocals. The solo section features rumbling drums topped by a controlled, raggedy, and luminous guitar.

The intro to “Breathe The Stars,” vaguely reminiscent of Rush’s “YYZ,” infuses the tune with a staccato feel, followed by shifting into more melodic textures. While “Merge” blends funk and new wave into a psychedelic-flavoured tune brimming with hints of fusion jazz. The result is at once beguiling, a bit stripped down, and complex, all at the same time.

Quarry

“Higher Higher” travels on a strutting rhythm topped by dark guitars and Quarry’s swagger-laced voice. The last track, “Flash Of Lightning,” ties the album off with graceful style, conveying gentle layers of colours dripping with innocence. As the song culminates, the harmonics elevate, followed by descending to a warm, mellow outro.

Quarry explains the song, “It’s just stopping and looking at the world through child’s eye. Sometimes through the eyes of an adult that never left childhood.”

Simultaneously multi-hued and shadowy, Positioning The Sun is one of those albums that blooms with repeated listening.

Positioning The Sun Track Listing:

1. Beyond Any Sense
2. This Is The Story
3. New City Comes Along
4. Kick The Void Outside
5. Dream Free Dreams
6. Breath The Stars
7. Freedom
8. Merge
9. Radio Inner World
10. Higher Higher
11. Flash Of Lightning

Run Time: 40:07
Release Date: October 14, 2022
Record Label: Lowfieye Records