One of the best albums I have recorded in a long time.

Intelligent, passionate and highly original.

Very nice album – we really enjoyed it

From the cello to the well picked acoustic guitar and clipped vocal style it’s all there. Thought provoking lyrics coupled with beautifully crafted songs make this a beguiling album.

This collection of 12 songs penned by the classically trained Dundonian – delicately beautiful melodies, strikingly politicised lyrics – is transformed by Adam Nash’s arrangements which set Kempston’s voice and intricately picked guitar against finely woven backdrops of violin and cello. The result is so unique, so consistent, so complete that Carefree Prisoner sounds more like a unified song cycle than what normally passes for a singer-songwriter’s latest album.

A battered, ancient woodland of rhythms, accompany weeping strings and softly spoken acoustic guitars. The rousing, blood-pumping ‘Barricade’, marching melancholy that is ‘The Bleeding Mile’ and confidently beautiful ‘Sternest of Frowns’ are all memorable moments, making Carefree Prisoner a shimmering release which captures part of the Celtic and traditional rock genres and instantly personalises them. Scottish routes poke through, creating a beautifully sparse landscape which the listener can continually use to reflect and brood upon.’

Beautiful songs

A promising debut album