After releasing his debut EP, Reno Tapes, as Mav Karlo earlier this year, former Hollerado frontman Menno Versteeg is following up the effort with his full-length debut, Strangers Like Us. The album arrives on October 16 on Royal Mountain Records, and today we have some new material to mark the news.
After having released the album's first single "Elevator" — featuring Vivian Girls' Katy Goodman — Versteeg has now shared another cut from the record. His new song, "Dig a Hole," arrives alongside a new Lulu Wei-directed video that will pique the interest of old-school Torontonians as it "unearths a bit of [Versteeg's] family history involving the beloved Toronto landmark, Honest Ed's."
The artist explained in a statement:
When my dad was a teenager he lost his mom and went through a rough patch where it seemed like he was headed for jail, or worse. During that time he got caught stealing at Honest Ed's, but Honest Ed just gave him a stern talking-to and let him go. I've always wondered how his life might've taken a turn if it hadn't worked out that way — if I'd even be here now if he'd ended up going to jail.
As for the record, we can expect to hear Versteeg again tackling the tougher subjects in life, from mental health struggles and self-examination to truth-telling.
"The goal with the album was to take a good hard look at myself and my behaviour and really get to the heart of the matter," he said of the record. "What I kept coming back to was the idea that what makes you human is your flaws."
He added: "So many of us walk around hiding our flaws all the time, but when you see someone's flaws and accept them, that's when you really know each other."
Previously, Versteeg and Royal Mountain Records created a cohesive fund to assist the label's acts in getting treatment for mental health and addiction issues.
Earlier this summer, Versteeg also shared a few covers on a new limited-edition cassette collection in support of the Art for Aid Project, a Métis-run organization that supports First Nations, Inuit and Métis art education programs.
Watch the video for "Dig a Hole" below, where you'll also find the album's tracklisting.
Strangers Like Us:
1. Elevator
2. Dig A Hole
3. Detonator
4. Record High
5. Strangers Like Us
6. Nurses And Priests
7. Wirewalker
8. Treasures
Pre-order Strangers Like Us.
After having released the album's first single "Elevator" — featuring Vivian Girls' Katy Goodman — Versteeg has now shared another cut from the record. His new song, "Dig a Hole," arrives alongside a new Lulu Wei-directed video that will pique the interest of old-school Torontonians as it "unearths a bit of [Versteeg's] family history involving the beloved Toronto landmark, Honest Ed's."
The artist explained in a statement:
When my dad was a teenager he lost his mom and went through a rough patch where it seemed like he was headed for jail, or worse. During that time he got caught stealing at Honest Ed's, but Honest Ed just gave him a stern talking-to and let him go. I've always wondered how his life might've taken a turn if it hadn't worked out that way — if I'd even be here now if he'd ended up going to jail.
As for the record, we can expect to hear Versteeg again tackling the tougher subjects in life, from mental health struggles and self-examination to truth-telling.
"The goal with the album was to take a good hard look at myself and my behaviour and really get to the heart of the matter," he said of the record. "What I kept coming back to was the idea that what makes you human is your flaws."
He added: "So many of us walk around hiding our flaws all the time, but when you see someone's flaws and accept them, that's when you really know each other."
Previously, Versteeg and Royal Mountain Records created a cohesive fund to assist the label's acts in getting treatment for mental health and addiction issues.
Earlier this summer, Versteeg also shared a few covers on a new limited-edition cassette collection in support of the Art for Aid Project, a Métis-run organization that supports First Nations, Inuit and Métis art education programs.
Watch the video for "Dig a Hole" below, where you'll also find the album's tracklisting.
Strangers Like Us:
1. Elevator
2. Dig A Hole
3. Detonator
4. Record High
5. Strangers Like Us
6. Nurses And Priests
7. Wirewalker
8. Treasures
Pre-order Strangers Like Us.