EP Review: The Quilter - ‘Bolt The Door’
The Quilter’s ‘Bolt The Door’ opens into a six-track EP packed with creativity, character, and joyful melodies.
Technically a debut EP, The Quilter is the “niche and obscure moniker” of Glaswegian Stuart Dougan (his words not mine). Previously in French Wives and Smash Williams, he still harbours ambitions of playing his hometown’s Barrowland Ballroom.
This project is self-penned, although he has roped in some friends to add drums and guitars, deceptively making this one-man project sound like a full band primed to tackle large venues.
Bold opener ‘The Long Weekend’ is a love letter to pre-pandemic days. There’s a beautiful electronic line, which comes across as a message to the world, especially when coupled with the vocals: “Patiently waiting for nothing particular / The mundane’s incredible now that it’s simpler”.
The EP took a while to come together, and while ‘Capable Now’ is three years old, it’s worth the wait. Then the slower synths of ‘Lowercase Letters’ encapsulate the power of what The Quilter has grown to be, when Stuart sings “One day, I’ll tell you everything”.
‘Itch’ – which sounds like if Elbow took an electro turn – delivers with an intricacy which fights opposite to the quick creation of the song. The overarching theme of projecting onto other people is one that is universal.
Stuart stepped away from music after the end of Smash Williams, but ‘Therapy’ was his return. An important moment for him, it comes across to listeners too, slowly building into an ode about choosing hope, despite the temptation to wallow in life’s challenging moments. Emerging from a dark cloud, it breaks through his own depression to make a track simultaneously brutal and delicate.
In closer ‘Peace’, Stuart makes full use of his producer’s studio piano to craft a tranquil finale. Indeed, Paul ‘Gal’ Gallagher deserves a special mention for his hard work behind the desk throughout, making the EP feel much bigger than initial expectations might allow.
‘Bolt The Door’ is ambitious, and anything but mundane. The Quilter is bravely reaching for big ambitions, and based on this evidence, the Barrowlands may still yet be an achievable goal.
Words by Samuel Draper