King Colobus confronts time and turmoil on new album ‘Torn Between Age & Perseverance’

There’s a particular weight that settles over a record built slowly, piece by piece, across years of private reflection. And on ‘Torn Between Age & Perseverance’, King Colobus (the moniker of Paignton songwriter Stewart MacPherson) unveils a body of work that feels carved rather than assembled.

Created entirely within the walls of his own space, the album carries the intimacy of isolation and the grit of persistence. MacPherson handles every element himself, from songwriting to performance to production, and that autonomy gives the record a singular pulse. There’s a quiet defiance in doing it all alone, especially when that process stretched across nearly a decade.

Sonically, the atmosphere leans shadowy and deliberate. There are hints of taut post-punk minimalism, flashes of desert-rock weight, and a brooding, low-slung vocal presence that anchors the entire journey. Yet these influences never feel imitative; instead, they form a backdrop for something deeply personal.

‘Hole’ stands out as one of the album’s most affecting moments. Written in response to a family member’s battle with cognitive decline, the track looks to inhabit the grief that inspired it. The lyrics move through confusion, frustration, and aching tenderness, reflecting the emotional labyrinth faced by loved ones watching someone slip away. The instrumentation mirrors that fragility, restrained yet simmering beneath the surface.

Elsewhere, ‘World On Fire’ shifts focus outward, pairing buoyant rhythms with biting commentary. The contrast conjures a deceptively energetic arrangement, framing a critique of a climate increasingly fuelled by fury rather than empathy.

But what elevates ‘Torn Between Age & Perseverance’ is its cohesion. These songs may have originated at different points in MacPherson’s life, but together they form a meditation on endurance, as well as weathering private sorrow and public upheaval alike. Even the decision to master the drums himself during lockdown speaks to that ethos of growth through constraint.

In all, this new album is a resilient, deeply human statement from an artist who has taken his time, and in doing so, created something quietly powerful.