Pop, rock, melancholy and folk are what you are going to hear in Lauren Mann’s new album. “Dearestly,” the fantastic new record from the artist, demonstrate her ability to go “all in.” Lucky for us – she will be in concert at Casa del Popolo in Montreal on November 13th. Lauren has come a long way in this solo album, and we feel that her new beginning will be embraced!
After recording two records as “Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk”, winning the 2014 CBC Searchlight as Canada’s best emerging act (out of 4,600 bands – no small feat!) and finishing 2nd on Calgary’s PEAK Performance Project, Lauren and her husband Zoltan (one of the band members) were suddenly left by the rest of the group. The couple felt burnt out from years of touring, so they decided to take a pause, recharge, and refocus before re-launching.
At that time, the many changes in the couple’s life influenced the way the album was written. Moving cities and parting from their old band-mates were new challenges. “All this stuff was happening, and I feel like the record, and recording it, was channeling all of that change and a bit of chaos and emotion into the music and getting it all out.” It’s captivating and genuine. Lots of different people play on the record which showcases a variety of creative influences. She says “we definitely went all in and had a lot of fun with it and I’m really happy with how it turned out because of that!”
There is something for everyone on Dearestly. From the poppy “Brave Face” to the melancholic “Oregon” and the rocking “Show me the way,” each song resonates and is a success. What’s even better is that you can get this album of the year contender for free or pay-what-you-feel here. “We really just wanted it to be accessible to people so everyone could download it and listen to it and get it into as many ears as possible. And she’s happy with the results so far: “It’s been really positive. We’ve had over 3,500 downloads, which is great. ”
On the record, Lauren even manages to bring Canada’s two solitudes together by singing in French on the timeless song “St. Lawrence”. Lauren states “The song was inspired by l’île d’Orléans. We’ve spent a lot of time there, so I wanted the song to really reflect the place and kind of the headspace that I’m usually at when I’m there. It’s really whimsical, fun and very local to that area. I really wanted to reflect the Québec spirit in that song, and I’m happy with how it turned out. I wish I could speak more French to complement it and talk about the song…I’ll work on that![laughter]”
The album came out last July, and we still listen to it almost daily. To say we are looking forward to the Montreal show is an understatement. Mann says we can expect to hear different arrangements of her songs with her to mostly be playing solo on the piano, but also ukulele and other keyboards. Exciting! “It’ll be a really fun show, I’m going to tell stories about the songs and touring, and we brought some breathtaking atmosphere with sounds and lights, so it’ll be a really good evening!” No doubt about it – we’ll be there!!
All the details of the event happening November 13th are here. Her Facebook page here.
*This post was written in collaboration with the Blue Lapin.
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Francophone and Francophile, trying to bring Québec’s two solitudes together through cultural exchanges. Improv Actor for 15 years. Music lover, from New Age to Death Metal and everything in between.