CANMORE – The old phrase couldn’t speak more truth for indie folk band Trundled: it’s better late than never.
After a stretched-out two years of the pandemic, the official release party and live show for Trundled’s debut album, High Water, happens Saturday (May 28) at artsPlace in Canmore.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are available at artsplacecanmore.com.
The duo – Ellen Braun (vocals, guitars) of Canmore and Joe Shea (vocals, guitars, keys) of Prince George, B.C. – admit they have been “cautiously optimistic” about re-booking lost shows, but this one, for all its blood, sweat and tears, truly hits home.
“There’s something just so different about actually being with human beings and especially at the beginning of things opening up,” said Braun. “We’re there to connect and bring everyone along and make it a safe place for everyone, but what happens there is all of our hearts beating together and we start breathing together and it's just a really wonderful experience to be in the same place.”
“I’m excited [and] a little nervous,” said Shea. “It has been so long since we recorded the tracks, but definitely something I’m really looking forward to doing.”
Saturday night’s opening act is folk/pop artist Mari Rosehill from Canmore.
On top of the songs of High Water, which is being performed in front of a live audience for the first time, Trundled is including a new single “The Dregs” that was recorded pre-pandemic at The Banff Centre.
“There’s a line in [The Dregs], ‘I want to be there when the light’s at the stage,’” said Braun. “Every time I sing that now I just think about how many times we felt that way in the pandemic that we couldn’t be on the stage and just this yearning to bring our music back out to the world.”
For High Water, originally to be released in June 2020, the duo worked alongside Daniel Ledwell, a former winner of the Canadian Folk Music Awards Producer of the Year, at his studio in Nova Scotia in 2019.
Braun and Shea previously said that the 10-track High Water highlights their musical careers, and follows themes of family, unconditional love, and self-discovery.
“There’s certain lines that sort of pop out in our songs now that change the way you interpret the song,” said Shea. “But all the tracks are still really meaningful to me and sometimes that lens of time can give a little bit of a different perspective on songs.”
“The fact that we did that in 2019 and got it all recorded has been such a blessing to not have gone into the pandemic and been like, ‘We didn’t do that thing that was so special' – we did do that thing that was so special,” said Braun.
In July, Trundled plans to play at the Smithers Midsummer Music Festival in Smithers, B.C.
