Good Habits - Quarter-Life (2024) Hi-Res

Quarter-Life, the new album from folk-fusion duo Good Habits is an absolute triumph.

Good Habits are: Bonnie Schwarz, who plays cello and sings like an angel and Pete Shaw who plays accordion. Their music is characterized by a heady combination of the duo’s virtuoso musicianship and a gift for vivid storytelling. Quarter-Life is their third album – following their earlier releases, Going for Broke (2020) and Antipody (2021). Bonnie and Phil had a markedly different – and infinitely more enjoyable – pandemic experience to the rest of us homebound Europeans. Stranded (happily – thanks very much) in New Zealand, they toured that country relentlessly, picking up new material and honing their chops in the process. Quarter-Life is just one of the products of that sojourn.

Much of Quarter-Life has already seen light of day. The album’s twelve tracks include five collaborations with an impressive list of guest artists (I’ll go into the details shortly…) and each of those collaborative offerings has been issued as a ‘monthly’ single during the run-up to the album’s release. The album is a truly eclectic affair, with folk-rock sitting comfortably alongside tunes that include a Scandinavian folk string quartet, songs of mellow contemplation, joyful folk-pop, mind-bending instrumentals and one of the best covers of a classic rock song that you’ll ever hear. It’s tremendous!

Good Habits cite artists as diverse as The Unthanks, Kate Bush, The Oillam, Bon Iver, Sylvan Esso, Monique Clare and The Police as influences and those influences are all – to a greater or lesser degree – detectable in the tunes that comprise Quarter-Life, an album that the duo have described as their “…optimistic look at life in their 20s.”

The vibrant start to Itchy Feet, the album’s opening track, will almost literally knock you off your feet; if you were asleep before Bonnie’s rallying cry of “I’m ready to go again,” I can guarantee that you won’t be after it, nor will you lapse into that somnambulant state again for at least 45 minutes. It’s a stop/start kind of song that breezes along and it’s an excellent introduction to this excellent album.

Bonnie’s cello takes the lead role in the backing to Sunday, a song that stands out, even amongst the uniformly top-notch fare on offer. Guest Kate Griffin takes the lead vocals and Bonnie’s lyrics – “On a Sunday I feel fine, any energy – I was wondering why!” and “I’m no use to anyone burnt out” – celebrate the opportunity that Sundays offer to recuperate from the stresses of the week. And the vocal harmonies are stupendous!

There have other covers of The Who’s magnum opus anthem Baba O’Riley, but I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a version as fascinating and as satisfying as the one provided here by Good Habits, with magnificent assistance from their guests, Lunatraktors. Pete replicates the ARP synthesizer loop that propelled The Who’s original version of the song on his accordion, and the effect is breathtaking. Lunatraktors’ drummer, Carli Jefferson emulates Moony and Bonnie and harmonises with Clair Le Couteur on the “Don’t cry/Teenage wasteland” chorus. It’s a genuinely brilliant cover that’s almost as heavy and just as intriguing as the classic original, and Good Habits even manage to work a splash of Irish traditional music seamlessly into the mix.

Groundbreaking all-female string quartet, Vulva Voce, are the next guests to make an appearance, on the delightful The Earth Has Moved. Bonnie’s cello and Pete’s accordion combine delightfully, and Vulva Voce provide a gentle counterpoint to Bonnie’s bright – and often intense – vocals. This is one of those songs that you’ll never tire of hearing.

Written by Bonnie and violinist Shimna Higgins, the medley Space Burns/ Hiccups is one of the tunes adopted and honed during the duo’s New Zealand adventure. Guest Alex Garden has arranged the tunes to reflect the style of her own folktronica outfit, The Drytones and it works a treat. Some of the sounds that Pete coaxes from his accordion sound almost otherworldly as Alex’s fiddle flutters and flies during Space Burns. Hiccups is rockier, driven along by a soft but highly persuasive percussive rhythm and the whole affair is a lovely mix of the exploratory and the quasi-traditional.

Bonnie takes centre-stage for the mellow Does Anybody? as she accompanies her beautiful vocals with deftly-plucked cello, before multi-instrumentalist Angeline Morrison joins the party for the gentle, haunting 360°. It’s probably the most intimate track on the album, and Angeline’s vocals are heart-melting. Angeline also adds kalimba to provide a soothing background, whilst Pete steps in with dashes of melody from his accordion.

I love Scandinavian folk tunes and, with Vinegar, Bonnie has captured the essence of that genre perfectly. Vulva Voce are back to play the tune and their blend of flighty fiddles and rich bass strings evokes the lakes and open countryside of Central Sweden vividly. Cello and accordion drone and sing alternately and Bonnie’s vocals are passionate and precise on All That She Wanted, another excellent song, with a chorus that is as light as air and verses that are deep and intense.

There’s a Cajun feel to the fast, joyful, poppy, version of The Cure’s Friday I’m in Love, a song that must be a shoo-in to close the duo’s forthcoming live shows, and the vibrancy continues with 2 Minutes More. Bonnie embraces the world as she sings “I got a lot to make me smile” and Olivia Cuttill’s trumpet just adds to the joy.

And, to close this wonderful album, Bonnie and Pete have taken the tender route. Pointlessly is probably the album’s sparsest track; Bonnie delivers yet another beautifully-paced, beautifully-weighted vocal and Pete follows her every note on his accordion. Once again, Good Habits chose the right song for the right moment.