As 2024 comes to a close, it is customary to reflect on the songs and music that for various reasons stand out and remain memorable. Like others who write reviews, host radio shows and publish interview podcasts, this year was remarkable, if only for its phenomenal outpouring of creative effort. Hundreds of albums and singles crossed my desk and out of sheer practicality I struggled unsuccessfully to find a way to manage the volume. I remain deeply grateful for all the producers, publicists and songwriters who reach out and include me in their attempts to spotlight their work.
Unlike many, I refuse to stream music as a means to listen, discover and explore, and rely heavily on publications like Great Dark Wonder, live shows and often serendipity to stumble across artists who captivate my attention and enthusiasm. Above all I prefer Canadian singer-songwriters, and narrowing down to some top choices is a daunting enterprise. That said, let me share my thoughts on three albums, one single and one live event that summed up 2024 for me.
Album: Ian North, “Everything Is Incomplete”
Ian North released his third album, “Everything is Incomplete,” on August 4, 2024. As soon as I dropped the metaphorical needle on the first track, I was hooked. Written, recorded and produced, unbeknownst to me, after Ian suffered a serious life-threatening illness, each song bears the gravitas and insight of a man who fully recognizes both personally and artistically how very precious life is. But there is no overt attempt to convince a listener of that or anything more, other than these shimmering examples of perception, subtle observation and penetrating character portraits. Something in the keen lyrical word play, or Ian’s elegiac vocals, or the rich imaginative production by the multi-instrumentalist Chris Gartner, all the parts culminate in a surprisingly thoughtful, moving and beautiful listening experience.
Album: Jesse Waldman, “The Shimmering Divide”
“The Shimmering Divide,” Jesse Waldman’s sophomore album, released September 20, 2024, with collaborator and long-time musical partner Marc L’Esperance, is a stunning, revelatory, emotional passage of a man discovering, or perhaps rediscovering, his essential truths and purpose. In so doing, Waldman reconnects, after the turmoil of pandemic lockdowns and geopolitical upheaval, the relentless alienation and abandonment of so many, with his own compassionate heart and profound humanity. Waldman explores the broken side of life, people left behind, family loss and relationships too precious not to attempt everything to save. Steeped in pathos, humility and hard-won wisdom, Waldman urges us all to see each other, whatever our status, beliefs or position, as we are – struggling, fragile, and broken-hearted. If only we were capable of such perspective, perhaps we might abandon the rhetoric of our times and finally find lasting love for each other.
Album: JJ Shiplett, “A Way Through TIme”
With only seven songs, JJ Shiplett’s “A Way Through Time,” released on March 15, 2024, absolutely took my breath away. From the opening song “Already There,” a Zen-like epiphany of deeply felt understanding, to its closing bittersweet tribute, “You and I Will Never End,” a touching commemoration to his close friend Jeremy Friesen, who died before the record’s release after a battle with cancer, this collection is an entrancing gift from a songwriter who surely deserves far more attention than I am aware of him getting. I left the album on repeat for weeks, thoroughly lost in what for me is the magic that music has held over me since I was a kid, eagerly singing along, mystified by the sounds, lyrics and stories, dancing like an old fool around and around my cluttered office, full of wonder.
Shiplett, a Calgary based musician, went to Fort Records in Fort Langley, BC, to record with producer Jay Stewart. Compelled by a sense of urgency and purpose and the creative power captured in this song cycle, JJ and his team fashioned a perfect album in every sense of the word as far as I am concerned, and I return often, still getting that same thrill as in the first listen. In his notes on the creation of the album, JJ summed up the feelings behind the songs. “There is a picture in my mind; it’s of my father when he was just a kid, sitting on the couch in front of some speakers, listening to music with his guitar in hand. It’s so clear I can almost feel it, and when I zoom in with just enough imagination, I can see the cover of the album he’s listening to. So sometimes I put that record on and picture myself sitting right next to him, strumming along. Music is the best form of time travel we got.”
Single: Terra Spencer, “East To West”
Strategically, songwriters are releasing far more singles leading up to albums these days. One single that I wish had been released, but thus far has not, is Terra Spencer’s profound duet with Stephen Fearing, “East to West,” on her September 2024 “Sunset” album. Spencer seems to intrinsically know the path to the heart. She writes poignant, moving love songs, perhaps better than any new, emerging Canadian songstress, and she has already written so many great ones – but this is a stellar moment worth celebrating.
Memorable Concert: Graven: Live at Jimmy Joy’s Music Room
This year marked the busiest for live music that I can remember, with two or three concerts a month plus plenty of jams with friends and family. The most compelling and enthralling live concert I attended was Graven’s “Always Everything” album tour at Jimmy Joy’s Music Room in Huntsville, ON. It is utterly fascinating what this Ottawa guitarist, songwriter, and producer can do on stage with his band – complex, intricate, nuanced, driving and fun. Graven takes you deep into the heart of the artform and leaves you applauding for more.
Summary
2024 was an amazing year for music makers in Canada. These few examples are what held my attention and are worthy of yours. Despite the troubling times we are living in, music men and women remind us that there is something far more absorbing than the conflicts of our own making that surrounds us.
Douglas McLean fell in love with music at a very early age and has worked as a musician and songwriter since his early teens. He has a deep love for the written word and has spent his life in pursuit of language as a means to convey what Van Morrison once called “the inarticulate speech of the heart”. He lives deep in the Almaguin Highlands with his wife and their dog. Douglas is active in local radio, recording, producing and writing, in and around Huntsville, Ontario.
His website is:
http://www.douglasmcleanmusic.com
