Witches, Templars, gargoyles — all are roll called in “Town of the Castle,” a jaunty medieval pop song that plays like an overture to John Southworth‘s marvelous 15th album. Southworth is an Englishman who for most of his career has called Canada home. Many of his poetic, surrealist records are set against North American backdrops, but on The Red Castle, Europe is his muse. After bearing witness to his father’s medically assisted death, the singer/songwriter took himself overseas for what became a kind of spiritual ramble through the Old World. With its impeccable production and orchestral adornments, The Red Castle is consistent with much of Southworth’s late-period catalog, though there is a poignancy here that bleeds through his signature abstraction.

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