WE WERE BORN HERE, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?, THE NEW LP FROM THE SECRET BEACH, OUT THIS FRIDAY VIA VICTORY POOL RECORDS
WATCH / SHARE “HAT’S WAY OF WALKING” HERE
BUY / STREAM WE WERE BORN HERE, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE? HERE TOMORROW
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES ON NOW THROUGH TILL OCTOBER
Photo Credit : Colin Medley // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
This Friday, The Secret Beach, an ever-shifting group of musicians and co-conspirators orbiting around the songs and voice of Prairie-based songwriter Micah Erenberg, is releasing his new album, We Were Born Here, What’s Your Excuse, out August 23 via Victory Pool.
Today, he shares the new single “Hat’s Way Of Walking”, a cover of the Famous Sandhogs. “Some time in early 2020, I discovered the Famous Sandhogs, and my life changed forever,” claims Erenberg. “As a fan of underground / outsider artists in music, the Sandhogs were my Holy Grail musical find. Over their two-decade career, they've remained anonymous while releasing over 60 albums.
“Naturally, I became obsessed with the Sandhogs and quickly discovered their strong support of our local music scene. It's a close-knit community, and I was amazed to find an active member / artist maintaining anonymity for so long. Eventually, I reached out to them via email. To my surprise, they seemed very happy to talk about music and creativity. I learned a lot.
“One night, as I slept with the Sandhogs' first album playing, I was jolted awake by a song that completely rocked my world. I knew instantly that I wanted to play it.”
WATCH / SHARE “HAT’S WAY OF WALKING” HERE
The Secret Beach has also announced an extensive North American tour that continues on through till October 12. All dates are listed below and tickets can be found HERE
MORE ABOUT WE WERE BORN HERE, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?
The new LP, We Were Born Here, What's Your Excuse?, is unquestionably a musical delight (more on that later), but it's also a subtle nod to the oft-overlooked Canadian province of Manitoba, lazily known to many as either a landlocked frozen tundra or the butt of a joke on The Simpsons (season 16, episode 6), where a welcome to Winnipeg sign reads 'NOW ENTERING WINNIPEG. WE WERE BORN HERE, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?'"
WATCH / SHARE “BUYING YOU A GARNET AMP” HERE
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Musically, one of Erenberg's primary inspirations for this record was the classic Bob Dylan & The Band album Planet Waves. The casual, homespun vibe of that LP had long held a special appeal for the songwriter, and after deep-diving on some of the album's finer details, Erenberg discovered that Planet Waves' producer, Rob Fraboni (also known for his work with the Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, and Tim Hardin, to name but a few) was still active and, as it turned out, still open to working with new projects. After a few phone calls, it was decided that Erenberg would travel to the veteran producer's studio of choice in Connecticut where the two spent five days marinating in the songs. Fraboni offered his enthusiastic perspective on the tunes, shared some of his well-honed musical philosophies, and a friendship was quickly cultivated. The songwriter stuck this experience in his back pocket and used it as fuel to write a few more songs and complete the final mix of the album.
BUY / STREAM “WHERE DID IT GO?” HERE
BUY / STREAM “BLAME MANNY” HERE
We Were Born Here, What's Your Excuse? is an album teeming with warmth; its 17 tracks casually unfurl spools of intimate texture, hushed melodies, and a wholly inviting atmosphere that puts the listener virtually in the same room as these timeless tracks. The songs – many of them barely cracking the two-minute mark – fly effortlessly by, nodding to many major players in the pop music canon. The spectre of Elliott Smith hovers over many corners of the record, including opener “Beautiful Everything” as well as the achingly tender one-two punch of “Long Distance Gossip” and “Natural Metaphor”. And indeed, whiffs of Dylan and The Band appear throughout, with the latter uniquely evoked in the album's organic, live-band feel, and the former's lyrical mastery mirrored throughout. More contemporary touchstones like Brooklyn indie-folk auteurs Woods and M. Ward (“Where Did It Go?”) are also apparent, and early '00s heroes Grandaddy are called to mind on “LA Haircut”, a cleverly sardonic critique of misplaced ambition.
WATCH / SHARE “22” HERE
BUY / STREAM “22” HERE
While Erenberg played a whole pile of instruments on the album himself, The Secret Beach wouldn't be what it is without the help of the carefully selected crew of fellow travellers tastefully deployed throughout the album. We're talking about the sort of players whose first priority is to shine a light on this collection of songs, seeming almost invisible in the apt-ness of their contributions; but repeat listens will have the listener revelling in the finer details, which include vocals and pedal steel from acclaimed country duo Kacy & Clayton, keys and guitar courtesy of Liam Duncan (aka Boy Golden), and duel backing vocals from Duncan and frequent bandmate Fontine. Erenberg captured the album on a variety of classic vintage tape machines, burnishing the album with a sepia-toned analog patina that makes it sound as if it could have been made any time in the last five decades. And while the spirit of Planet Waves looms large, one would be forgiven for hearing hues of early McCartney solo albums, Big Star's Third, and fellow Canadian DIY legend Chad VanGaalen.
WATCH / SHARE “IF YOU DON’T LOVE ME, LET ME GO” HERE
BUY / STREAM “IF YOU DON’T LOVE ME, LET ME GO” HERE
BUY / STREAM “HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEWS?” HERE
BUY / STREAM “NOT SO BAD” HERE
WE WERE BORN HERE, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?
01 Beautiful Everything
02 Sunspill
03 Buying You A Garnet Amp
04 22
05 All This Living
06 Have You Seen The News?
07 If You Don't Love Me, Let Me Go
08 Blame Manny
09 Sucked Into It
10 L.A. Haircut
11 Long Distance Gossip
12 Not So Bad
13 Natural Metaphor
14 Where Did It Go?
15 Hat's Way of Walking
THE SECRET BEACH TOUR DATES
August 31 - Winnipeg, MB - The Leaf
September 5 - Vulcan, AB - Nine In A Line
September 7 - Nelson, BC - The Royal w/ Anna Katarina
September 8 - Enderby, BC - The Small Axe
September 10 - Spokane, WA - Spokane House Show Collective
September 12 - Vancouver, BC - Green Auto
September 13 - Bellingham, WA - Honeymoon Mead
September 14 - Olympia, WA - Cryptatropa w/ Warren Dunes
September 18 - Portland, OR - Turn! Turn! Turn! w/ Tispur
September 19 - Astoria, OR - Obelisk w/ The Hacjkles Music
September 20 - Roseburg, OR - The Green Heron
September 21 - Mt. Shasta, CA - CA
September 25 - Encinitas, CA - House Concert
September 26 - Long Beach, CA - Vine
September 27 - Parkfield, CA - Parkfield Cafe
October 8 - Peterborough, ON - Sadleir House w/ Nick Procyshyn
October 9 - Montreal, QC - Quai Des Brumes w/ KT Laine
October 11 - Hamilton, ON - Collective Arts Brewing
October 12 - Toronto, ON - The Baby G