- Artist
- Le Ren
- ReleaseProduct
- Morning & Melancholia
- Label
- Secretly Canadian
- Catalogue Number
- SC407digital
- Release Date
- July 31, 2020
-
Vinyl EP
$18.99
-
Download
$3.99320 kbps, LAME-encoded
Genres
Press Release
Le Ren’s close-to-the-bone, heartbreak folk songs seem, at first, to tap into a shared musical memory. A melody swirls forward and you’re just sure it’s known to the back of your mind; was it in from a movie you saw, some classic mid-60s setpiece? Maybe it’s something you heard as a kid, in the backseat of your mum’s car, or the shotgun seat of your own. But before you can zero in through the fog, your heart is torn apart by her voice - rich, direct and mellifluous - steering you through these slowburn tunes about real-life loss. “Discussing songwriting feels the same as when someone asks about your tattoo,” says Lauren Spear, 26, the sole voice and songwriter behind Montreal’s Le Ren. “You’re putting it out there, showing it in public right on your arm. Then, when someone asks you ‘Hey, what’s that tattoo mean?,’ you’re shocked to have to explain it, as it is a choice that feels essential for a particular moment.” Two years ago, Spear’s ex-boyfriend was killed in a car accident. Since then, she has been struggling with the immeasurable weight of being the sole keeper of their shared memories and in response, translated a sliver of that experience into music. Her EP, ‘Morning & Melancholia’, is a mediation on mourning, memory and how to live with the ellipses you’re forever left with in the wake of loss. The way Le Ren is able to look tragedy directly in its eyes and never let her voice so much as quiver is owed to a few things. Raised on rural Bowen Island, British Columbia, the isolated lifestyle allows for a certain independent dedication to craft that is evident in her performances. Spear has studied folk and bluegrass going back to her early teens, partaking in workshops and festivals all over North America. You can hear in her acumen the gorgeous folk formalism of Canadian heroes Kate and Anna McGerrigle. But it’s not all rigor and acuity that makes Le Ren’s music so stunning. She was also raised on The Holy Trinity of songwriters John Prine, Neil Young and Bob Dylan and their curious, deadpan and cosmic approach to life’s most brutal swipes also feed Le Ren’s sensibilities. Her lyrical couplets are as simply put as they are devastating. “So here we are at the end of all things // I guess I learned too late // that love can’t be the only reason to stay,” she sings on the closer ‘Love Can’t Be the Only Reason To Stay’. It’s gut wrenching but sure-footed. For fans of John Prine, Karen Dalton, Joni Mitchell; Bedouine, Sharon Van Etten, This is the Kit.
Digital Tracklist
-
1
Love Can't Be The Only Reason To Stay
2:42
Buy
Love Can't Be The Only Reason To Stay
-
WAV / FLAC
$1.99 -
MP3
$1.35
-
-
2
How To Begin To Say Goodbye
2:35
Buy
How To Begin To Say Goodbye
-
WAV / FLAC
$1.99 -
MP3
$1.35
-
-
3
If I Had Wings
4:33
Buy
If I Had Wings
-
WAV / FLAC
$1.99 -
MP3
$1.35
-
-
4
The Day I Lose My Mind
2:55
Buy
The Day I Lose My Mind
-
WAV / FLAC
$1.99 -
MP3
$1.35
-
Secretly Canadian
-
- Artist
- Loren Kramar
- ReleaseProduct
- Glovemaker
- Label
- Secretly Canadian
- Catalogue Number
- SC484DIGITAL
- Release Date
- April 26, 2024
- Download
-
Pre-order
- Artist
- Baby Rose & BADBADNOTGOOD
- ReleaseProduct
- Slow Burn
- Label
- Secretly Canadian
- Catalogue Number
- SC490DIGITAL
- Release Date
- April 12, 2024
- LP (special)
- Download
-
- Artist
- gglum
- ReleaseProduct
- The Garden Dream
- Label
- Secretly Canadian
- Catalogue Number
- SC477DIGITAL
- Release Date
- March 29, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- Loren Kramar
- ReleaseProduct
- I'm a Slut
- Label
- Secretly Canadian
- Catalogue Number
- SC484DIG5
- Release Date
- March 19, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- Baby Rose & BADBADNOTGOOD
- ReleaseProduct
- One Last Dance
- Label
- Secretly Canadian
- Catalogue Number
- SC490DIG1
- Release Date
- March 13, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- Faye Webster
- ReleaseProduct
- Underdressed at the Symphony
- Label
- Secretly Canadian
- Catalogue Number
- SC491DIGITAL
- Release Date
- March 1, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- gglum
- ReleaseProduct
- Eating Rust
- Label
- Secretly Canadian
- Catalogue Number
- SC477DIG6
- Release Date
- February 28, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- serpentwithfeet
- ReleaseProduct
- GRIP
- Label
- Secretly Canadian
- Catalogue Number
- SC466DIGITAL
- Release Date
- February 16, 2024
- LP (special)
- CD
- Download
Alternative / Indie / Post-rock
-
- Artist
- Vanishing Twin
- ReleaseProduct
- You Are Not an Island (Version)
- Label
- Fire Records
- Catalogue Number
- FIRE562X_S2
- Release Date
- April 25, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- mui zyu
- ReleaseProduct
- the rules of what an earthling can be
- Label
- Father/Daughter Records
- Catalogue Number
- FD127DIG4
- Release Date
- April 23, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- Maria Chiara Argiro
- ReleaseProduct
- Closer
- Label
- Innovative Leisure
- Catalogue Number
- 810874027146
- Release Date
- April 26, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- pigbaby
- ReleaseProduct
- i don't care if anyone listens to this shit once you do
- Label
- PLZ Make It Ruins
- Catalogue Number
- PLZ050D
- Release Date
- April 26, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- Yosa Peit
- ReleaseProduct
- Gut Buster
- Label
- Fire Records
- Catalogue Number
- FIRE704
- Release Date
- April 26, 2024
- LP
- Download
-
- Artist
- Crumb
- ReleaseProduct
- The Bug
- Label
- Crumb Records
- Catalogue Number
- CR004DIG5
- Release Date
- April 24, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- Metronomy, Naima Bock and Joshua Idehen
- ReleaseProduct
- With Balance
- Label
- Ninja Tune
- Catalogue Number
- ZENDNLS676W
- Release Date
- April 23, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling, Andreas Werliin
- ReleaseProduct
- Ghosted II
- Label
- Drag City
- Catalogue Number
- DC917
- Release Date
- April 26, 2024
- LP
- Download
Limited Editions
-
Pre-order
- Artist
- Stasis / Paul W. Teebrooke
- ReleaseProduct
- Time Sensitive: Unreleased Sounds From The Otherworld Archives
- Label
- De:tuned
- Catalogue Number
- ASGDE047
- Release Date
- June 7, 2024
- 12”
-
- Artist
- Röyksopp & Robyn
- ReleaseProduct
- Do It Again
- Label
- Dog Triumph
- Catalogue Number
- DOG007
- Release Date
- May 23, 2014
- LP (special)
- Download
-
Pre-order
- Artist
- Actress
- ReleaseProduct
- Statik
- Label
- Smalltown Supersound
- Catalogue Number
- STS428DIGITAL
- Release Date
- June 7, 2024
- LP (special)
-
Pre-order
- Artist
- Simon Fisher Turner
- ReleaseProduct
- Instability of the Signal
- Label
- Mute
- Catalogue Number
- ISTUMM504
- Release Date
- August 2, 2024
- LP (special)
- Download
-
Pre-order
- Artist
- Jimi Tenor & Cold Diamond & Mink
- ReleaseProduct
- Is There Love In Outer Space?
- Label
- Timmion Records
- Catalogue Number
- TR12014DIGITAL
- Release Date
- May 31, 2024
- LP (special)
- Download
-
Pre-order
- Artist
- Kiasmos
- ReleaseProduct
- II
- Label
- Erased Tapes
- Catalogue Number
- ERATP168
- Release Date
- July 5, 2024
- LP (special)
- CD
-
- Artist
- Bochum Welt
- ReleaseProduct
- Module 2
- Label
- BMG
- Catalogue Number
- 538987501
- Release Date
- April 26, 2024
- LP (special)
-
Pre-order
- Artist
- Mary Lattimore and Walt McClements
- ReleaseProduct
- Rain on the Road
- Label
- Thrill Jockey
- Catalogue Number
- THRILL608LPX
- Release Date
- May 10, 2024
- LP (special)