Much of the year 2022 in Canadian music felt like it belonged to the Sadies. After the untimely passing of Dallas Good that February, the band went on to release Colder Streams — one of Exclaim!'s Best Albums of 2022, earning a rare 10/10 score — which would go on to take home the 2023 JUNO Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year and land on the Polaris Prize shortlist.
While it had seemed possible that the band would retire in their singer-guitarist's absence, they did some festival performances last year. And, apparently, they kicked off 2024 by joining forces with scene legend Rick White (Eric's Trip, Elevator) to record a new album.
The 13-track Rick White and the Sadies is now available on Bandcamp for your listening pleasure, with 12-inch vinyl copies on sale from Blue Fog Recordings. As per the album description, White and the Sadies' Mike Belitsky, Sean Dean and Travis Good got together this past January and February to record the collection.
White recalled meeting Dallas Good, who would go on to perform with Elevator and be his Toronto roommate in the early aughts, back in 1996. "In 2003, me, Greg Keelor and all the Sadies recorded an album together called THE UNINTENDED," White wrote. "Ever since then we had plans to record another LP together but it never managed to come together before Dallas's untimely death in 2022."
He continued:
Well, we've finally done it, thirteen brand new songs filled with sweet melodies and swirling psychedelic guitars like only our special connection could create. The loss of our brother Dallas understandably focuses many of the lyrics on mortality. Of course we had him clearly on our minds while making this album. He may not have physically been here with us, but he is very much a part of it. The lyrics are about the loss of a loved one and the light and dark of life in general. We made this album to help lift us, an album we really like, an album we think Dallas would like too.
Give it a listen below.