Royal Canoe Unveil New Album 'Sidelining'

Watch a video for the record's first single "Butterfalls"

BY Josiah HughesPublished Apr 28, 2021

Winnipeg indie-pop quintet Royal Canoe are finally set to release a follow-up to their 2019 LP Waver. The new album is called Sidelining and will arrive on July 9 via Paper Bag Records/Birthday Cake Records. Right now, though, you can check out the first single "Butterfalls."

The new album was recorded with a decidedly improvisational approach. Before the band entered Winnipeg's Private Ear Studios, they had one rule in place — there could be no song ideas that were thought of ahead of time.

"We booked studio time, set up and mic'd all of our gear and then just pressed record and tried to let things happen," frontman Matt Peters said. "This is pretty much the complete opposite approach to how we made our previous three albums, where everything was very planned ahead of time."

He continued: "I think at first it felt like this arbitrary test of limitations that might go disastrously, but then we learned to trust ourselves, and follow the ideas as they came, whether it was a drum part, or a chord progression, or a recorder solo. It was really refreshing to capture these ideas in real-time as we were discovering them, and watch these songs start to materialize."

Ahead of its arrival, the album is being previewed with a music video for the new track "Butterfalls." Watch it below.



Sidelining:

1. Sidelining
2. Butterfalls
3. Surrender
4. Get It
5. Scratching Static (ft. NNAMDÏ)
6. Remmin'
7. Summer Stay
8. Feels Good
9. HAL
10. Alexandria (ft. Begonia)

Pre-order Sidelining.

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