Headmaster - Seasons Vol.4 : Spring

​Headmaster

Seasons Vol.4 : Spring
self-released; 2026

​​​By ​Dino DiMuro​​​
​

Based on the album title Seasons Spring, Vol. 4 and the lush, Tolkienesque cover art, I was expecting this album to be filled with environment sounds or new age guitar, but it's instead a short collection of pop tunes by a certain Peter Gillett of London, recording under the name Headmaster.

As you might infer, this release is part four of a musical tetralogy, with the previous three "season installments" dropped on their meteorological starting dates. Gillett moved to London from Wales in the 90's with a band called Firetown, and many of the tracks within the 4-album project came from this group's era. Gillett is actually a real Headmaster: he's CEO and Executive Headteacher at the Hertswood Academy Trust, and uses his music partly to fundraise for charities like Herts Mind Network and Noah’s Ark Childrens’ Hospice. 

The Headmaster press release says their sound is "both expansive and deeply set in the rich tapestry of human experience, with each installment exploring the cyclical nature of life, emotion and transformation." To my ears these pop songs are in both the mainstream tradition of Al Stewart and the more alternative bent of Matthew Sweet. At press time the band's Spotify page listed over 21,000 monthly listeners. 

"Spring to Life" presents a synth-and-drum-machine backing for Gillett's rock-ready vocals, shortly joined by sparkling, high-end electric guitar. The singing on this one reminded me of Kansas or even Foreigner. The genial forward motion of the song has a built-in hiccup in the middle to illustrate "springing forward" (don't adjust your player!). A nice pop starter! "Didn't Even Know Their Name" slows down a bit for a more jangly vibe and might have something to do with sick or abandoned children; it's upbeat and catchy but also quite moving. 

"April Days" strips Gillett's sound to a piano and drum backing for a song with lots of seasonal references but is ultimately a lost love song ("She carved a secret message with a key of mine / Both our names are what I wish she wrote"). The middle section with a harmonica reminds me of an old Styx single. "The Season for Love" has a soulful funk beat, with rapid, sublime guitar strumming throughout. "Slowly Heaven" is a chunky rocker where I got a total Matthew Sweet flashback, with both similar vocals and that cool retro quality. The writing and arranging here is a step up, revealing a surprising harmonic sophistication.

The final two songs are interesting in that they seem almost identical in title and arrangement. "The Willow Seed" is a throbbing, minor-key rocker with a cool repeating guitar lick that sounds like someone saying "wheee!". "The Willow Tree" repeats the formula, but with a harder rock feel and voices saying "yeaah!" instead of a guitar lick. The song at the center totally takes me back to the kind of psychedelia that used to chart (maybe like Supertramp) with the closing vocals again providing Matthew Sweet chills.

This is a wonderfully designed project, with the songs starting good and just getting better.

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