COWBOY JUNKIES ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM SUCH FEROCIOUS BEAUTY
ALBUM OUT ON JUNE 2 VIA LATENT RECORDINGSย
Cowboy Junkies will release Such Ferocious Beauty on June 2, 2023 via Latent Recordings.ย This is the band’s first release of new material in five years and follows their heralded 2022 collection of covers, Songs of the Recollection.ย Such Ferocious Beauty is vintage Cowboy Junkies and another dimension from the lo-fi Canadian band comprised of siblings Margo, Michael and Peter Timmins and lifelong friend Alan Anton. The new body of workย is a rumination on aging, losing parents, facing mortality, and creating space for one’s life in the midst of the ruin that comes from merely living.
Today, the band share “What I Lost,” the first emphasis track that reflects on the last several months of the Timmins’ father’s life.ย The song is a reflection on conversations that Michael had with his father during his battle with dementia, “memories of his flying days as a bush pilot in northern Quebec and his love of jazz and his experiences of seeing the great big-bands of the 50’s would often work their way into our conversations. I would often think about all of those memories and experiences that were slowly being eaten away by the dementia and would eventually completely disappear with his death. Lines like “This is what I lost” and “I can sit here and wait” from “What I Lost” and “Shadows 2” are not so much about him, but about me.”
The song is captured in a video for which Peter Timmins created an artistic interpretation of the effects of dementia on the person and those around them. “The man in the video is our father,” says Michael Timmins, “sitting in his living room listening to Duke Ellington…I’m not sure what he is thinking. The color “super 8” footage is from the late 50’s taken in Montreal and Magog Quebec by our Grandfather (our Mom’s dad). The peopleย in it are my Dad, Mom and Aunt (Mom’s sister)…there are some quick glances of our oldest brother and an Uncle (my Mom’s brother). There are also a few quick flashes of family pics of all the kids (us and our siblings).”
For Such Ferocious Beauty, Michael stresses that he and Margo spent more time working through the songs, letting her interpretations really settle before taking them into the studio. And once in the studio, heย worked with Alan and Peter to create even more dynamic tracks than usual. “This is a different kind of recording; there’s a denseness to it. In many ways the music, the choice of certain structures, the tones used become as important in communicating the albums themes as do the lyrics.”ย “The songs are expressions of Mike’s soul,” says Margo Timmins, “but once written, once he gives them to me, to the band, and eventually the audience, there is no right or wrong interpretation.”
Stay tuned for more new music from Cowboy Junkies!
What’s The Story about Cowboy Junkies?
Cowboy Junkies are a Canadian alternative country/blues/folk rock band. The group was formed in Toronto in 1985 by Margo Timmins (vocalist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Alan Anton (bassist).
The Junkies first performed publicly at the Beverley Tavern and other clubs in Toronto’s Queen Street West, including The Rivoli. Their 1986 debut album, produced by Canadian producer Peter Moore, was the blues-inspired Whites Off Earth Now!!, recorded using an ambisonic microphone in the family garage.
The group’s fame spread with their second album, The Trinity Session, recorded in 1987 at Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity. Their sound, again using the ambisonic microphone, and their mix of blues, country, folk, rock and jazz earned them both critical attention and a cult following. The Los Angeles Times named the recording as one of the ten best albums of 1988.
The band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame in 2019. They continue to tour extensively around the world including just completed tours of the USA, New Zealand, Australia, Europe, and the UK.
Cowboy Junkies
Such Ferocious Beauty
(Latent Recordings)
Release Date: June 2, 2023
Tour Dates
September 27 – St. Catharines, ON @ FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre – TICKETS
September 29 – Windsor, ON @ Chrysler Theatre – TICKETS
September 30 – Sarnia, ON @ Imperial Theatre – TICKETS
October 1 – Guelph, ON @ River Run Centre – TICKETS
October 3 – Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall – TICKETS
October 4 – Kingston, ON @ Kingston Grand Theatre – TICKETS
October 5 – Peterborough, ON @ Showplace Performance Centre – TICKETSย
Artistย Links
Background Photo Credit: Heather Pollockย
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