He settled in Asheville, North Carolina in the early 2000s to work on literary pursuits as well as take advantage of the city's thriving music scene. After a certain amount of drifting he relocated to Buffalo, New York in 2006, where he released his first album, 2008's Feeling Better, Pilgrim, a work of indie folk that incorporated field recordings and looping effects. His second release, The Dog's Dinner, arrived after a move back to Asheville in 2009 and featured collaborators including guitarist Shane Parish of Ahleuchatistas. Recorded with musician J Seger, the EP Elation followed in 2012, and Parish, Seger, and Emily Easterly joined him on 2013's Loyalty. Recalling names like Nick Cave and Patti Smith, it was released by Headway Recordings. Bartell moved to the Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint later that year and began writing material for his next album, which took inspiration from his new environs, the theme of "resettlement," and relevant works by writer Spalding Gray, among other literary influences. The songwriter signed with the Sinderlyn label, which reissued Loyalty in 2015 before the acoustic guitar-centric full-length Light Enough arrived in the spring of 2016. ~ Marcy Donelson