Northeastern Chorus is the latest release by not Sleepy Driver. As explained by the longstanding Fredericton band: ‘Northeastern Chorus is not a Sleepy Driver album. It’s a collaboration. It’s like-minded musical spirits celebrating community and creativity.’
The record is a still-timely mix of Rock and Americana, with a western bend and a pinch of local flavour. Sleepy Driver’s frontman Peter Hicks flexes his production skills — honed through the band’s extensive studio catalogue — adding colour and texture to the singalong-friendly collection of tunes. Recording and mixing took place at Hicks’ home under his direction, and this contributes to the album’s consistent ‘kitchen party gone stage’ vibe. The mastering work by The Recordery contributes the depth and polish one has come to expect from the Fredericton studio.
The tracks themselves are very songwriter-driven, with catchy hooks and clever reflections on the everyday. In addition to Hicks, the album features songs by Juanita Bourque, Clinton Charlton, and Sleepy Driver’s keyboardist John Heinstein, as well as performances by a long list of Maritime performers. There is plenty of variety in styles, from the full-on country “Every Single Day” (Bourque) to the rocking “Done With Love”. The latter being perhaps the song that gives away Hicks’ deep roots in Sleepy Driver the most.
For those of us who have been around the Fredericton ‘music-sphere’ for a while, it’s always a thrill to pick out local performers by their playing. Be it the New-Orleans-by-New-Brunswick, blue-note filled saxophone of Kelly Waterhouse, the scraped, raspy bends of Jonnie Price’s guitar lead, or the runaway train drum beats of ‘The Mayor of Devon’ Barry Hughes, there’s reason to be proud in having so many identifiable voices around.
When it comes to picking favourite tracks, I find “Come Around Lover” to be quite moving, and “Where To Start” surprisingly haunting (although if I hear a plea to “California” in one more song…) The highlight for me comes in the form of the barn-burning opener “Bar Nuts and Sauvignon Blanc”. Earnest and packed with energy, the song and title just sound like a great time. It also features my pick for musical moment of the album when Shane Guitar skates outside the scale for some tension at the end of his solo.
Northeaster Chorus is not a spotless production; beat and pitch don’t always fall neatly on a grid. However as music and technology move forward, I have come to take less exception to this. Nowadays, surrounded by a sea of overproduced music almost certain to disappoint onstage without… uh, ‘aids’, I find myself welcoming this human touch as a familiar comfort. It definitely works in full benefit of an album with as much heart as this one.
Northeastern Chorus is an album about coming together at a time of unprecedented isolation. It will definitely make you long for the good times, but in a good way.
The full album is being released on July 17, 2020.