Fairhazel Turns Fleeting Moments Into Lasting Sound on Brief Encounters
There’s something about fall that makes certain albums feel like they were made for it — quiet mornings, gray skies, the slow rhythm of reflection. Brief Encounters, the new album from Nashville-based indie-folk artist Fairhazel, is one of those records. Out today, it’s an intimate collection that transforms everyday moments into stories worth revisiting again and again.
Fairhazel, the moniker of 27-year-old British-born songwriter Hugh Macdonald, has always had a gift for turning observation into art. Raised between the UK, South Africa, and France, and now rooted in Tennessee, his music blends the emotional honesty of folk with a storyteller’s imagination. On Brief Encounters, that blend feels sharper than ever — part travel diary, part emotional map, and entirely his own.
After years of living nomadically on the road, Fairhazel found inspiration in the quiet that comes with slowing down. Brief Encounters was born out of that stillness — a series of vignettes that reflect real experiences, imagined lives, and the blurred space between the two. Each track feels like a conversation overheard on a train, a journal entry written under soft light, or a moment that lingers just long enough to become memory.
The album’s latest single, “Ava,” stands out as one of its most cinematic moments. The song tells the story of a girl waiting for change that never quite arrives — a haunting portrait of isolation and hope, born from a real conversation Fairhazel once had with a stranger. Like much of his work, “Ava” captures the beauty in stillness, the ache in anticipation, and the shared humanity in waiting for something more.
Musically, Brief Encounters draws inspiration from early Harry Nilsson, Ben Howard, and Sufjan Stevens, but what makes it special is how seamlessly Fairhazel moves through those influences to arrive somewhere deeply personal. His arrangements feel organic and textured, often carrying the warmth of acoustic guitar, gentle percussion, and harmonies that feel like flickering candlelight.
What results is a record that feels timeless and familiar — a companion to slow walks, late-night drives, and quiet reflection. It’s the kind of album that reminds you how music can make the ordinary feel extraordinary.
With Brief Encounters, Fairhazel cements himself as one of indie folk’s most compelling storytellers — one who finds poetry in the smallest details and truth in the in-between. For anyone craving an album that feels like fall in sound and spirit, this one’s for you.
Brief Encounters is out now on all streaming platforms.
