It’s a long way from the rainy streets of Edinburgh to the rugged peaks of Kalispell, Montana, but for Barry G.K. Thomson, the man behind Ker, that’s exactly where the music began. Most people spend their lives talking about “one day” finally doing what they love. Ker actually did it. After a career spent in the marketing trenches, he walked into a Montana music shop twelve years ago, bought a guitar, and traded in the jargon for a six-string.
His debut single, “Wōndering on Giants,” is a solid, sweeping nod to the prog-rock greats he grew up with. Think the atmospheric weight of Pink Floyd mixed with the intricate layers of Yes. But instead of getting lost in technical wizardry, Ker keeps it grounded in the dirt and the mist. The track is a three-way standoff between man, mountain, and the storm. With Pete Fairbairn laying down a lush bed of Hammond organ and Rhodes piano, Ker’s lead vocals cut through. It’s an anthem for anyone who’s ever felt small standing at the foot of something ancient.
But if “Giants” is the wide-angle lens, the rest of his upcoming album, Converging Paths, looks straight into the heart. Take the upcoming “Lofty Thoughts,” for example. It’s a track that digs through the “vault of yesteryear.” Crumpled letters, old receipts, and unread books. Ker captures that weird, irrational urge to hold onto things that don’t belong to us anymore, but somehow still matter. It’s sentimental, and it hits a nerve because we’ve all got that box of papers we can’t quite bring ourselves to toss out.
Another forthcoming track, “There Are No Words,” is a love song that’s almost defiant in its simplicity. It’s a tune that doesn’t need the word “love” to get the point across. Instead, it’s about that feeling of walking down the road with a melody stuck in your head and realizing you’ve written the song without even trying. Between Ker’s tender guitar fills and the steady pulse of Jamie Graham’s drums, the track is a quiet, grateful exhale.
Ker has a busy 2026 lined up, with pairs of singles dropping every month through summer. He’s moving from the jaunty piano of “North Valley Stroll – Part 1“ to deeper themes in tracks like “Open Heart Surgery” and “Time Traveler.” He isn’t trying to be the next big pop star, but a songwriter trying to make something that resonates with the listener’s own life.
There is a real grit and honesty to this project. Ker shows us that the mountains aren’t going anywhere, and neither are the memories we’ve tucked away. Sometimes, it just takes a lifetime of experience, and the right melody, to finally bring them into the light.