We first introduced readers to Grand Nathaniel back in 2020, and after a 5 year hiatus they’ve come back with a vengeance, with their new album, ‘Lonely Wanderer’, released on the 14th of November.

Describing himself as “a down-and-out and aging musician” who is “pulled by a malicious entity into a vast, imaginary world”, you’d at first think that Grand Nathaniel – real name J. Burton – was some grizzled old soul with the music to match; instead that couldn’t be further from the truth. Presented as a 9-song video album, we are inducted into a world that is ever-evolving, imaginary, yet strangely familiar.

At times it feels as though he’s paying homage to the likes of Fleetwood Mac (especially with ‘Farther’, reminiscent in parts, of ‘The Chain’), or Pink Floyd (the title track is particularly “Floydian” in tone and subject matter), but this is symbolic of his respect for those who have trod the mystical path ahead of him, rather than outright copying. As we listen we are drawn into his world, away from our own comforts, and led into the less familiar, safe, however, in the knowledge that he has us by the hand. Grand Nathaniel might be a lonely wanderer, but we are not.

At just over 34 minutes long. ‘Lonely Wanderer’ is a welcome return to the heady days of progressive rock, with soothing guitars, synths, and gentle percussion lulling the listeners, while the accompanying visuals, with their multi-layered imagery and stark colouring, suggest that we are very much in the 21st century.

You can find out more about Grand Nathaniel online on Instagram, and Facebook.

Watch the visualiser for the ‘Lonely Wanderer’ album below.

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