Manitoba's the Secret Beach has announced that his sophomore LP We Were Born Here, What's Your Excuse? will arrive on August 23 via Victory Pool Music.
The indie folk project's founder Micah Erenberg will examine his evolving relationship with his home province of Manitoba, and its capital, Winnipeg, throughout the project, which got its name from a Simpsons reference.
Of lead single "22" — which came out today in preview of the album along with "L.A. Haircut" and "Sucked Into It" — Erenberg said:
"A song about being young in a frozen, gentrifying shit hole. Inspired by the infamous Simpsons 'Midnight RX' (season 16, episode 6), where a welcome to Winnipeg sign reads 'Now entering Winnipeg. We were born here, what's your excuse?'"
"I’d like to dedicate this one to some of Manitoba’s finest street performers: Eric the Great, Blue McLeod and Curtis Falk. Frequenters of the Osborne Village strip," he continued. "The last time I walked through that spot at night, there was no soul to be found. The live music spots were closed, some canned music played out into the street. Eric, Blue and Curtis had moved on to better spots, I guess. I still love that town ... yeah, it’s a shit hole, but it’s our shit hole."
We Were Born Here, What's Your Excuse? will follow up the Secret Beach's 2022 debut Songs from the Secret Beach.
Get a taste of the upcoming sophomore outing by watching the "22" music video below.