After making classics their own on last year's Songs of the Recollection, Toronto's Cowboy Junkies are back with their first album of original material in five years, led by new single "What I Lost."
Such Ferocious Beauty takes hold on June 2 via Latent. It follows 2018's All That Reckoning.
Siblings Margo, Michael and Peter Timmins, alongside lifelong friend and bandmate Alon Anton, spent more time working through the songs than they usually do this time around. Once they got into the studio, they focused on creating the most dynamic tracks possible.
"This is a different kind of recording; there's a denseness to it," Margo explained in a statement. "In many ways the music, the choice of certain structures, the tones used become as important in communicating the albums themes as do the lyrics.The songs are expressions of Mike's soul, but once written, once he gives them to me, to the band, and eventually the audience, there is no right or wrong interpretation."
Cowboy Junkies will be taking the new songs on the road with a seven-city Ontario tour this fall, beginning at St. Catharines' FirstOntario Centre on September 27 and ending at Peterborough's Showplace on October 5. Tickets go on sale Friday (March 31) via the band's website.
Lead single "What I Lost" reflects on the final few months of the Timmins's father's life, recalling Michael's conversations with him while he coped with dementia. "Memories of his flying days as a bush pilot in Northern Quebec and his love of jazz and his experiences of seeing the great big bands of the '50s would often work their way into our conversations," Michael said. "I would often think about all of those memories and experiences that were slowly being eaten away by the dementia and would eventually completely disappear with his death. Lines like 'This is what I lost' and 'I can sit here and wait' from 'What I Lost' and [album track] 'Shadows 2' are not so much about him, but about me."
Watch the video for "What I Lost" below, and keep scrolling to check out the album tracklist and the band's tour itinerary.
Such Ferocious Beauty:
1. What I Lost
2. Flood
3. Hard to Build. Easy to Break
4. Circe and Penelope
5. Hell Is Real
6. Shadows 2
7. Knives
8. Mike Tyson (Here It Comes)
9. Throw a Match
10. Blue Skies
Pre-order Such Ferocious Beauty.
Cowboy Junkies 2023 Tour Dates:
09/27 St. Catharines, ON - FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre
09/29 Windsor, ON - Chrysler Theatre
09/30 Sarnia, ON - Imperial Theatre
10/01 Guelph, ON - River Run Centre
10/03 Toronto, ON - The Danforth Music Hall
10/04 Kingston, ON - Kingston Grand Theatre
10/05 Peterborough, ON - Showplace Performance Centre
Such Ferocious Beauty takes hold on June 2 via Latent. It follows 2018's All That Reckoning.
Siblings Margo, Michael and Peter Timmins, alongside lifelong friend and bandmate Alon Anton, spent more time working through the songs than they usually do this time around. Once they got into the studio, they focused on creating the most dynamic tracks possible.
"This is a different kind of recording; there's a denseness to it," Margo explained in a statement. "In many ways the music, the choice of certain structures, the tones used become as important in communicating the albums themes as do the lyrics.The songs are expressions of Mike's soul, but once written, once he gives them to me, to the band, and eventually the audience, there is no right or wrong interpretation."
Cowboy Junkies will be taking the new songs on the road with a seven-city Ontario tour this fall, beginning at St. Catharines' FirstOntario Centre on September 27 and ending at Peterborough's Showplace on October 5. Tickets go on sale Friday (March 31) via the band's website.
Lead single "What I Lost" reflects on the final few months of the Timmins's father's life, recalling Michael's conversations with him while he coped with dementia. "Memories of his flying days as a bush pilot in Northern Quebec and his love of jazz and his experiences of seeing the great big bands of the '50s would often work their way into our conversations," Michael said. "I would often think about all of those memories and experiences that were slowly being eaten away by the dementia and would eventually completely disappear with his death. Lines like 'This is what I lost' and 'I can sit here and wait' from 'What I Lost' and [album track] 'Shadows 2' are not so much about him, but about me."
Watch the video for "What I Lost" below, and keep scrolling to check out the album tracklist and the band's tour itinerary.
Such Ferocious Beauty:
1. What I Lost
2. Flood
3. Hard to Build. Easy to Break
4. Circe and Penelope
5. Hell Is Real
6. Shadows 2
7. Knives
8. Mike Tyson (Here It Comes)
9. Throw a Match
10. Blue Skies
Pre-order Such Ferocious Beauty.
Cowboy Junkies 2023 Tour Dates:
09/27 St. Catharines, ON - FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre
09/29 Windsor, ON - Chrysler Theatre
09/30 Sarnia, ON - Imperial Theatre
10/01 Guelph, ON - River Run Centre
10/03 Toronto, ON - The Danforth Music Hall
10/04 Kingston, ON - Kingston Grand Theatre
10/05 Peterborough, ON - Showplace Performance Centre
