Vancouver indie-pop songwriter Louise Burns netted a Polaris Music Prize long list nomination with her 2011 debut album, Mellow Drama. Since then she's joined the Arts & Crafts-signed Gold & Youth, but this new band hasn't interfered with her solo work, since she's close to completing a new album tentatively titled Louise Burns Presents the Midnight Mass.
The bulk of the album was recorded in Vancouver with producer Colin Stewart (Dan Mangan, the New Pornograpers, Black Mountain) at the Hive Creative Labs. Burns then went to Los Angeles to record three songs with the Raveonettes frontman Sune Rose Wagner, who also played guitar and mixed the entire album.
"I've been a fan of his work for a long time. [I'm a] huge Raveonettes fan," Burns tells Exclaim! in regards to her team-up with Wagner. "I also like his production work with bands like Dum Dum Girls. We have a mutual friend, and I, on a whim, asked my friend to send him some of my demos which I had been doing over the past two years."
Also chipping in during the sessions were Cat Power's Gregg Foreman on guitar, Ladyhawk's Darcy Hancock on guitar, Dum Dum Girls' Sandy (a.k.a. Sandra Vu) on drums, Brasstronaut's Brennan Saul on drums, Sun Wizard's James Younger on guitar, and Fond of Tigers' Jesse Zubot on violin. Burns, meanwhile, handled the bass and keyboards herself in addition to playing some guitar.
So how does the album sound? "It's a lot different from the last," Burns reveals. "It's darker for sure. It's more influenced by bands like Nick Cave and Spiritualized, and a lot of Kate Bush too, actually. There's a lot more interesting pop angles."
The album will come out through Light Organ Records. The release date has not yet been set, but Burns speculates that it will likely be in "May or June."
She adds that the Gold & Youth's record will be out around the same time, "hopefully also in late spring." That band will play some live dates including SXSW and the Arts & Crafts 10th anniversary celebration in Toronto.
What's more, Burns has already begun demoing songs for another new solo album.
With so much new music on the horizon, we can expect more updates from Burns soon.
The bulk of the album was recorded in Vancouver with producer Colin Stewart (Dan Mangan, the New Pornograpers, Black Mountain) at the Hive Creative Labs. Burns then went to Los Angeles to record three songs with the Raveonettes frontman Sune Rose Wagner, who also played guitar and mixed the entire album.
"I've been a fan of his work for a long time. [I'm a] huge Raveonettes fan," Burns tells Exclaim! in regards to her team-up with Wagner. "I also like his production work with bands like Dum Dum Girls. We have a mutual friend, and I, on a whim, asked my friend to send him some of my demos which I had been doing over the past two years."
Also chipping in during the sessions were Cat Power's Gregg Foreman on guitar, Ladyhawk's Darcy Hancock on guitar, Dum Dum Girls' Sandy (a.k.a. Sandra Vu) on drums, Brasstronaut's Brennan Saul on drums, Sun Wizard's James Younger on guitar, and Fond of Tigers' Jesse Zubot on violin. Burns, meanwhile, handled the bass and keyboards herself in addition to playing some guitar.
So how does the album sound? "It's a lot different from the last," Burns reveals. "It's darker for sure. It's more influenced by bands like Nick Cave and Spiritualized, and a lot of Kate Bush too, actually. There's a lot more interesting pop angles."
The album will come out through Light Organ Records. The release date has not yet been set, but Burns speculates that it will likely be in "May or June."
She adds that the Gold & Youth's record will be out around the same time, "hopefully also in late spring." That band will play some live dates including SXSW and the Arts & Crafts 10th anniversary celebration in Toronto.
What's more, Burns has already begun demoing songs for another new solo album.
With so much new music on the horizon, we can expect more updates from Burns soon.
