This summer Paul Armfield releases his seventh album. A mature and accomplished collection of songs delivered in a warm, controlled and confident manner befitting of a man in his fifties. There’s a charm and a smoothness in his voice that fans of his music will recognise, and his usual deftness with words and imagery are as evident as ever. But what may come as a surprise is an element of social commentary in some of the lyrics.

Due for release in September the album was recorded last year in Stuttgart with a group of musicians from across Europe. The location and choice of personnel was deliberate and reflects the subject matter of the record. Titled ‘Domestic’, Paul describes the songs as ‘musings on the idea of home, place, belonging and allegiance’, adding ‘So many recent developments in my life have made me question the definition of home, the very personal experience of my children growing up and leaving has been played out against a background of Brexit. From the sofa to the state to the solar system, love, security and a sense of belonging are everything, wherever we are.’

The personal and political are regularly found intertwined throughout the record. ‘I’m not a big fan of politics in songs but I’ve found it almost impossible to not make comment on what’s happening.’ The song Flagbearers questions the notion of nationality, with a wistful refrain of ‘We are all of us strangers’, it suggests that none of our national flowers are native species ‘The rose, the thistle, the shamrock, the daffodil, borne on the wind across mountain and ocean, until self-seeding randomly thriving untended, native by accident, falling where happenstance falls’. Paul freely admits ‘I realise it’s very hard to prove absolutely the origins of plants, I certainly wouldn’t fight my corner on this, but you get my point.’

The song ‘Nowhere’ is a fairly disparaging portrait of the English character which Paul describes as ‘…aggressive, uncompromising, self-righteous and self-defeating. We English are completely defined by our insularity, and I say this as someone living on the Isle of Wight, an even smaller island!  What upsets me most about recent events is that we’re not just happy with dividing ourselves from the rest of the world, we seem even more determined to create division within. ‘

‘As a nation we’ve never been wrong, we’ve never lost; complacency and belligerence seem to be our default setting. I don’t know what it will take to get us both individually and as a nation to change tack and consider the possibility that we might be wrong from time to time, just so that we might listen differently, consider other people, other opinions and other possibilities with a more open mind. The song ‘Wrong’ is all about that.’

Paul continues ‘If politics are making their way into my songs then you know things must be bad, my usual response is to stay indoors and pretend nothing’s happening. As I sing on I’m Not Here ‘My eyes are ringing and my ears are sore, there’s things out there that I can’t ignore, so draw the curtains and lock the door, I’ve no appetite for more.’