After a decade as the musical maverick leading The Black Seeds, creating and navigating the vaudeville circus that is Fly My Pretties, Barnaby Weir has taken a step to the side, taking the spotlight, with Weir to release his first solo album ‘Tarot Card Rock’.

Twelve tracks of creamy country rock with an American Roots base - it’s a collection of songs by a kiwi boy, shaped by his travels, his relationships and life in Wellington, New Zealand. This is just Barnaby, striped back with his own agenda, playing with a straight bat.

Written by Barnaby with his longtime friend and sparring partner Craig Terris (of slow burning alt-country band Cassette) with another two songs written with veteran Dutch country outfit Rootsclub and one Fly My Pretties song ‘Old Friend’ that also befitted the mold of his debut album.

Barnaby’s long standing friendship and working relationship with Dr Lee Prebble - engineer extraordinaire - continues on ‘Tarot Card Rock’ grooming the tracks at the iconic Surgery Studio on the fringes of Wellington’s CBD. A self confessed perfectionist, Barnaby kept the vocals from most demo recordings to retain their character, layering overdubs with his headphones/stethoscope at the Surgery. The result is an album that swings through the moods; melancholic in a lost romantic kind of way, with the long gaze of the kiwi landscape and imbued with a sense of celebration and fun. Each song is a subtle shift along a warm country spectrum.

‘Tarot Card Rock’ turns over the stories and country tinged harmonies of a troubadour in New Zealand music. Many fortunes can be heard throughout the twelve tracks on this album, reaching from a personal place to the universal voice. Barnaby’s pastoral vision through the urban streets and on the road is tailored with a great sense of balance and resonance; a joyous and melancholic thing.