We've been busy at Paintbox Recording working with our good pal and sonic genius Rusty Matyas (Imaginary Cities, Waking Eyes) and are very excited to share our new album called, "Citizen Alien." It's chalked full of special guests including Rusty himself, Kenny Anderson (King Creosote) from Scotland, Alexa Dirks (Begonia), Bill Western, Joanna Miller, Madeleine Roger, Michael Johnston, Myron Shultz, Grant Davidson (Slow Leaves), Chris Dunn, JP Hoe, Hazel and Oscar Latimer, and even our dog Irving got a word in.
Most of the songs are about or inspired by stories from our ancestors emigrating to Canada, or things that happened after they got here such as packing up for the Japanese Internment, writing love letters from a smallpox quarantine, and Keri's great uncle Raphael Zengel coming home shellshocked after WW1. We realize this sounds very bleak, but we tried to focus on the love and strength of the characters that got them through, and to lighten the mood a little, we tempered it with trumpets, clarinets, tubas, some tickled ivory and a few tales of stabbings and beatings.
It will be released on the very fine COAX Records, so please stay tuned. Yippee!