In anticipation of his upcoming fifth studio album release, “Truth and Lies,” Regina, SK folk-rocker Glenn Sutter has released the new single “End of the World.” Both in delivery, and in the lyric, Sutter spins a wry, touching love story about what really matters even in the face of impending, unrelenting change.
Whether “End of the World” intends to be prophetic or not is a question best left for Sutter himself, but it is clear that he is reflecting deeply and thoughtfully. Certainly, indications suggest that collectively we are heading toward some sort of inflection point or realignment, in our common history, perhaps catastrophic enough to warrant a larger detailed analysis. But Sutter’s song is a more personalized, subtle introspection. More importantly, it is a mediation on inner beauty, rising as it were, above the opinionated cacophony of a possible impending catastrophe.
Discovering Glenn Sutter’s music through this new single turns out to be more joyous and hopeful than one might expect. Its plaintive beginning belies a hidden spiritual optimism which becomes increasingly apparent as the song progresses. Joining Sutter’s acoustic guitar and overdubbed piano and harmonica, a lead guitar propels the song’s dynamics dramatically, while Joyce Belcher – his partner of thirty-five years – accompanies Glenn’s vocal with a delicate harmonic tenderness. Sutter revels in an inner light he perceives emanating within, and without, the loved one walking with him to the end of world.
“I’m glad the sun always comes up in the east / I know it’s just another star / But every sunrise offers some relief / Because the light is going to shine wherever we are.”
Like many other writers of his calibre, Sutter has revisited the “world” as a symbol or a focal point for his lyrical explorations. His composition, “Weight of the World,”’ from his 2008 “All you Need” album was selected as the Saskatchewan track for David Suzuki’s Playlist for the Planet (CBC Radio Three and Universal Music). Included on that same album was the song, “A New World” that ruminated on nature being overpowered by modernity’s relentless appetites. “Great Big World,” off 2015’s “Let the Dog Run” is a rollicking finger picked ode to nature’s vast abundance.
Glenn Sutter’s plain-spoken panacea delights in the light and love shared by people walking together, with mutual dreams and aspirations, despite the gathering storm clouds on a near horizon. A communal insight that promises, or at least points toward something everlasting. Sutter offers an invitation, love has the power to prevail, even unto and perhaps beyond, the “End of the World.”
Photo Credit: Ali Lauren
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
