We’ve hyped up St.Arnaud’s self-titled album quite a bit over the past few months, with our review of the How Lucky EP in December (which features three tracks from the album) and of the single “Midwest Superstardom” in March. So finally, here we are at the main event, one that not only marks the release of an album, but the culmination of a major shift for Ian St. Arnaud’s musical output.
While the self-titled LP is the Edmonton songwriter’s third, it is the first to feature a full band, rife with drums, keys, bass, guitars, horns, and even a pedal steel for good measure. It shows a psychological breakthrough for Ian, who went solo in 2017 after losing his former North of Here bandmate Luke Jansen. On forming the band, Ian says: “It was already happening, but to lean into it felt like a big step, considering how this whole project began.” Naming his new bandmates, he continues: “Connor [Mead], Jesse [Shire], Tory [Rosso], Jonny [Chavez], and Graham [Lessard] all contributed lines, rhymes, choruses, and life that I couldn’t on my own. That’s what it’s about, baby! It’s a team sport.”
But even with the band behind him, Ian’s skilled songwriting hasn’t changed or missed a step. In fact, the new blood has fueled the jazz, alt-country, and folk-pop inspired vibes that flow throughout his tunes. There’s a little Paul Simon and James Taylor in here, as well as some more current contemporaries like Sammy Rae & The Friends, Del Water Gap, and perhaps even a touch of ROLE MODEL. That said, there’s something for everyone: Solid rock songs, folk ballads, and dance grooves all rolled into one shiny package.
Regardless of the style of each of the twelve songs on the new record, all of them tell a story in their own subtle ways, with some packing an emotional gut punch. St.Arnaud opens the album with “Your House”, a funky number with a somewhat romantic and comedic tilt about finding peace wherever possible to get away from the problems of the present. That eases into the sunshiny mood of “How Lucky”, where instead of wanting to escape the present’s problems, Ian sings of embracing the moment: “The sun on my face / How lucky it is to be alive / I never want to leave this place.”
The title “Midwest Superstardom” brings to mind the title of Chappell Roan’s breakthrough album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. Roan titled their album as such to capture the journey from a struggling artist in Missouri to a famous LA pop star. In a similar vein, “Midwest Superstardom” captures the thoughts of a musician on that journey, asking the question every gigging musician contemplates: “Is it so bad just to be the local touring band? Is this making it?” Using country riffs, Ian channels the self-awareness of a local artist with lofty dreams but reasonable expectations: “We don’t make money, but we’re swinging for the fences / But the fence is swinging right back at us, harder than we swung.”
Things slow down a tad on the next couple of tracks, all of which wax romantic. “Strange Collection” is a two-minute outpouring of gratitude to a partner who’s there to help deal with an assortment of unresolved emotions (“So when we’re calm and clean, smiling nude reflection / When you kiss me tenderly, I’ve still got that strange collection”.) The horns come out on “Love You (For Real)”, a smooth jazz-laden track which a wedding band might whip out for a first dance.
While those two tracks address a current love, “Pretend Like You Do” snips at ex-romances, showing how even in the present it can get tough to let go of the past: “Tousling your hair in the morning used to be my light / Now I can’t imagine you as a single ray of my sunshine.” Here, Ian’s voice glides from a country twang to a soulful croon as the track builds with cathartic intensity, right up until the final line.
“Blue Paper” picks up the tempo a touch, with a vibe like a Noah Kahan song, although the horns bring a touch of the ‘70s as Ian sings about accepting the ex-romances from “Pretend Like You Do” have ended, not willing to give them energy anymore: “It’s a small consolation, a second place prize / Left to play with the shape you take on in my mind / And I’m running out of change to keep playing you back as the bad guy.”
A spoken word intro kicks off “Sunshine”, a track with more of a rainy day vibe. Sparse percussion lets the horns and guitar do most of the work, making the music somber under Ian pining for some brightness. The intro admits: “Things have been feeling kind of off lately in my head / Too many nights on separate ends of the couch / Maybe it’s just me? This whole thing’s gotta pass.” While songs up until now have dealt with hot romances and ex-romances, this one covers the cold romance, where the love’s run out and each side of the relationship’s waiting for the other to start “the talk”, let the storm clouds do their damage, and then pass to let a new ray of sun shine through.
“It’s Cool” captures the album’s emotional core, with the title being something people tell themselves when life is anything but cool. Songs up to this point have been about grappling with and restraining emotions, and trying not to let the crisis bleed into everyday life, even though it eventually does. The chorus captures this: “It’s cool / People think you’re lazy, but you’re going insane / It’s cool / People only love you if you’re stayin’ the same.” Layered over smooth jazz riffs with a catchy hook from the horns, the track provides a dichotomy heading into the last quarter of the album: Even if everything sounds and seems cool, it’s not always the case.
Where the first quarter of the album dealt with romance, and the second and third dealt with deteriorating relationships and mental health, the last three songs on the record are pointed directly toward – yet still railing against – cynicism. Despite its danceable beat, the lyrics of “Karaoke Night” suggest more of a disaffected sway. “When it’s karaoke night, I sing your favorite song,” Ian sings to an invisible partner with whom things aren’t going well. “It’s like breaking my tooth on a cherry pit; at least it was sweet when I bit.”
Then on “Better Than Fine”, with little instrumentation to back him up, Ian provides some of the most naked vulnerability on the whole record, singing to an ex and wanting to prove to them how much he’s grown without them. “I guess I want you to learn,” he sings in the first chorus; in the second, he switches it up by singing “I guess I want you to hurt.” On this penultimate track, the lyrics suggest Ian’s gained maturity through his emotional soul-searching, even if the journey’s taken a long while: “You never seem to get past eighteen; I’m finding gray hairs now and a heart that can give everything.”
For the last song “She’s Got To Wait”, the full band comes back to finish off the album. The chorus repeats the mantra “Gonna be a big day coming”, although it’s not clear what the day will bring. The song centers around young love threatening to fall apart as anxiety and substance abuse rear their heads. It all stems from Ian’s personal experiences, so while the day might not refer to any specific date, it could just symbolize the hope that everything will get better for everyone involved in the relationship, even if it never does.
There’s something soothing about grappling with big and complicated emotions when you can set the crisis to a crisp drum beat and tack on some muted trumpets. St.Arnaud have done that well here in their first release as a full band, taking all of their best musical ideas and using them to turn grief into groove and cynicism into celebration. Even if Ian’s words might suggest pain from heartbreak and anxiety, the music suggests brighter days and vibes ahead.
And surely brighter days are ahead for St.Arnaud: They tested the material on the new album in shows all across Europe, playing everything from empty rooms to packed clubs. While we hope and are certain that the band will see more of the latter down the line, Ian says it’s all for the love of the game and playing music with each other: “The project is about keeping that presence and art in our lives as long as we can.” That mindset seems to match the album’s theme: To seek happiness despite everything in life that can make one a cynic.
Take a listen to St.Arnaud’s self-titled album below.
Written by Will Sisskind
