Last year, we were captivated by an album from Saskatchewan singer/songwriter Ryan Hicks, who eloquently explored the aftermath of tragedy on “Pulsing Colours.” I was thus delighted to hear that he has a new album, “Dream,” out today, and a new single for us to feature here on Great Dark Wonder. “Prairie Ocean” is an uptempo ode to the themes of home and hearth that he mined so beautifully on the last album, and as a prairie girl myself, I absolutely love the idea of a ‘prairie ocean.’ (If you doubt that a prairie can seem like an ocean, head out to the Midwest – either Ryan’s Saskatchewan or my Kansas – and take a good, long look at a sea of prairie grass.)
On the album, Hicks played all of the instruments, sang all of the vocals, wrote all of the songs and is the producer. The album’s debut single,“Newport,” has already been featured and played on Sirius XM’s North Americana Sunday Service and CBC Saskatchewan’s Weekend Edition. This album is produced by Ryan and mixed by Juno-award winning artist Michael Phillip Wojewoda (production credits include The Jerry Cans, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Barenaked Ladies).
For those of you in or near Regina, Ryan’s album release show will take place on 20 June at the Artesian (details and tickets here); watch his website for more dates to come.
And now, enjoy the lyric video for “Prairie Ocean” from Ryan Hicks…
Exposed to the wonders of CBC and Montréal Canadiens hockey as a teenager thanks to a satellite dish in rural Kansas, I have been an unabashed lover of all things Canadian ever since. I am a lifelong collector of esoteric and varied music, a teacher of piano, an avid reader, and a stamp/coin collector. In real life, I work in the field of technology.
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