FIELD GUIDE – “LEAVE YOU LONELY”
A SPILL EXCLUSIVE VIDEO PREMIERE
We are thrilled to announce Field Guide (aka Dylan MacDonaldβs) sophomore self-titled album, out October 28th via Birthday Cake Records. We are also dropping the first single and video for the track βLeave You Lonely.β About the video, Dylan explains, “This video was made en route from Sierra Vista Arizona to San Diego California. Despite the fact that βLeave You Lonelyβ was recorded during one of Manitobaβs coldest winters in decades, the desert seemed to have a place in the story of the song. The intense heat made us move slow. That lethargy paired with the choice of a slow frame rate made me feel as though I could move my body to the music without feeling as inhibited as I normally might. Filming this video felt a lot like listening back to a demo of a new song, or even mixes of the final recording β Iβll often wander around the house or outside on a walk feeling pleased to have accurately captured my interior world in song.”
Field Guide is a weaver of worlds. Built around his inviting voice and wrapped in warm textures, his self-titled sophomore full-length builds his most engaging world yet. It lives in a place between darkness and hopefulness with unshakeable melodies at its heart. βMelody is what makes words fall out of my mouth. Itβs disarming. When I find a melody that represents my internal world, I drop my guard. I allow the words to appear out of thin air without judgement. A lot of these songs came to life that way. I wasnβt trying to make anything, but the songs became a home for words that I wasnβt yet ready to write on the page,β MacDonald says.
The past few years havenβt allowed for much escape from our interior worlds. Thereβs been a lot to move through, and many things can be true at once. This album lives at the sometimes-tense intersection of those truthsβloving someone dearly while being pulled toward something new, feeling joy in the melancholy, a gratitude for deep friendship and an uncertainty of oneβs place in it.
The album is also alive with the people and places that surrounded its creation. Vocals and acoustic guitars were recorded near Riding Mountain National Park in a woodstove-heated cabin during one of Manitobaβs coldest winters in years. Bass and drums were tracked at Breakglass Studios in Montreal, a room that already felt familiar from falling in love with the records of tour-mate Leif Vollebekk. Final overdubbing took place at Monarch Studios in Vancouver surrounded by trusted engineers and friends. And constant inspiration was found in his circle of Winnipeg creators working away on their own projects. Like The Big Pink houseβBoy Golden, Slow Spirit, Roman Clarke, Kris Ulrich and others dropped in on each other to share demos and often lend their sounds to each otherβs albums.
Beyond his hometown, Field Guide has had the opportunity to meet some heroes and new friends. Heβs supported Leif Vollebekk, Bahamas, SYML, Wild Rivers, JP Saxe and Penny & Sparrow on their tours this year. Heβs built a legion of fans online and on the road. So, while this is a solo album that invites the listener inside Field Guideβs inner monologue world, it really is meant to be lived in together.
“I made these songs into a world for me to live in,β says Dylan. βThey are dark and hopeful and have helped me to figure some things out. For the past couple of years Iβve maintained a pretty consistent habit of journaling. Putting words on paper is difficult and Iβve gained a new respect for those who are able to do so in a seemingly effortless fashion. Melody is what makes words fall out of my mouth. Itβs disarming. When I find a melody that represents my internal world, I drop my guard. I allow the words to appear out of thin air without judgement. A lot of these songs came to life that way. I wasnβt trying to make anything, but the songs became a home for words that I wasnβt yet ready to write on the page. The past few years havenβt allowed for much running or escape from our interior worlds. Thereβs been a lot to move through, and many things can be true at once. Being in love while finding connection with another. Feeling joy in the melancholy. A gratitude for deep friendship and an uncertainty of oneβs place in it. And now, the mix of discomfort, excitement and pride in sharing this album. These are the truest, rawest songs that Iβve ever written. Iβve never felt so sure about something Iβve made before. And now, itβs yours. “
ARTIST QUOTE
“Leave you Lonely” is about devotion. It’s about fighting complacency. Having doubts is human, but swallowing those feelings can often lead us into a haze of disconnection. It’s rare to hold only one feeling at a time and I’ve been learning to embrace the myriad of emotions that come with being alive, and in love. This song represents a beautiful and imperfect love, the recording is the sameβno editing, a one take (and sometimes out of tune) vocal” ~Dylan Macdonald
Field Guide
Field Guide
(Birthday Cake Records)
Release Date: October 28, 2022