James Irwin took his folksy roots in a lo-fi electro direction for 2015's Unreal, and now he's ready to release a follow-up titled Shabbytown. Before the new LP lands next week, Exclaim! is giving you an exclusive listen to the upcoming album in its entirety.
Shabbytown hears the singer lamenting the end of the Montreal he knows and loves. He details the changing and disappearing neighbourhoods of Griffintown and Mile End to the tune of "mystified melancholy."
Like its predecessor, Shabbytown plays on the tension between Irwin's involvement in both the folk singer and art-rock worlds, taking the listener on a journey that poses questions like: "Are we moonlight meditating?" "Are we trying and failing to party?" and "Are we enraged and spilling feelings?"
The answers, it seems, are ever-changing. Below, listen in as Irwin navigates his way through the shape-shifting streets of Montreal on Shabbytown.
The album is officially released on May 12.
Tour dates:
05/18 Quebec City, QC – TBA
05/19 Montreal, QC - Bar le Ritz PDB
05/20 Ottawa, ON - Bar Robo
05/23 Peterborough, ON - Garnet
05/25 Guelph, ON - TBA
05/26 Toronto, ON - Burdock
05/27 Waterloo, ON - TBA
05/28 Hamilton, ON - This Ain't Hollywood
Shabbytown hears the singer lamenting the end of the Montreal he knows and loves. He details the changing and disappearing neighbourhoods of Griffintown and Mile End to the tune of "mystified melancholy."
Like its predecessor, Shabbytown plays on the tension between Irwin's involvement in both the folk singer and art-rock worlds, taking the listener on a journey that poses questions like: "Are we moonlight meditating?" "Are we trying and failing to party?" and "Are we enraged and spilling feelings?"
The answers, it seems, are ever-changing. Below, listen in as Irwin navigates his way through the shape-shifting streets of Montreal on Shabbytown.
The album is officially released on May 12.
Tour dates:
05/18 Quebec City, QC – TBA
05/19 Montreal, QC - Bar le Ritz PDB
05/20 Ottawa, ON - Bar Robo
05/23 Peterborough, ON - Garnet
05/25 Guelph, ON - TBA
05/26 Toronto, ON - Burdock
05/27 Waterloo, ON - TBA
05/28 Hamilton, ON - This Ain't Hollywood