I’ll never forget the first time I heard of Midnight Shine. I was sitting at my computer browsing through social media when I came across a posting from a friend in Northern Ontario that had shared a video they took at a music festival in Timmins. The video was off a band called Midnight Shine opening for Trooper, the song was “Since You Been Gone”. I immediately looked them up, reached out to their management at the time and the rest is history.
Adrian Sutherland of Midnight Shine performs at RBC Bluesfest in 2017 photo Renee Doiron
Today I’m excited to introduce Midnight Shine’s third, and easily best, album, to date, High Road.
The album represents their most mature sound to date, no doubt their hard work and experiences have helped grow their sound.
Seven of the nine new, original songs were recorded at Jukasa Studios in Ohsweken, Ont., with producer John-Angus MacDonald (the Trews), and the remaining two were recorded at Blue Rodeo’s studio, the Woodshed, in Toronto with Tim Vesely (Rheostatics). High Road was mastered by Joao Carvalho, who recently grabbed a Grammy nomination for his work on Rose Cousins’ 2017 album, Natural Conclusion.
“Growing up in Attawapiskat was a real challenge. Kids can be cruel to each other, and I was bullied a lot,” says Sutherland, who’d seek escape though music, or by spending time out on the land, learning about his Mushkegowuk Cree culture and traditions. “Resilience is something I had to learn at an early age, and it became part of who I am.”
“Living in Attawapiskat today, as an adult with a family of my own, requires even more resilience. There’s no hiding the truth about life in the North, and the fact that many of our communities are in a horrible state. We face frequent hardships, and struggle every day to find our way through it all. But we still have a choice to feel hope, and to empower ourselves to find peace.”
“A lot of the songs I’m writing these days keep coming back to being resilient, and not giving up. Through my music, I hope this message will resonate with people from the James Bay coast, and other isolated places. This album is for them.” Adrian Sutherland
In addition to Sutherland, Midnight Shine’s bassist Stanley Louttit, and lead guitarist Zach Tomatuk, musicians on HIGH ROAD are Chris Gormley, Zach Sutton, Jesse O’Brien, George Gillies, Tim Vesely, and John-Angus MacDonald. The album was produced with assistance from Dreamcatcher Charitable Foundation, and is being released on the band’s own label, Midnight Shine Music.
Track X Track with High Road
(click on song title to listen to song on Spotify)
Leather Skin – The first track grabs you immediately. This is a new sound for Adrian and I have to say it takes the Midnight Shine to a whole new level. The lyrics and melody will quickly get stuck in your head and become one of your favourite tracks of this album. This is one of those songs you can listen to over and over and never tire of it.
Cold Walker – Continuing with the upbeat theme from Leather Skin. This is a straight up rock song and will become a favourite on the concert stages this summer with plenty of guitar riffs for Zach and a wicked bass line for Stan.
High Road – The album’s title track. This is likely the closest in sound to their earlier music, I hear a lot of influences from “Northern Man” on this track.
Velocity – The start of this song reminds me of Green Day’s “When I Come Around” but then quickly morphs into the familiar Midnight Shine sound. Velocity is certain to get your feet tapping and hands clapping.
Survivor – This song is very anthemic in feel. The piano accompaniment is a perfect addition to the Midnight Shine sound. Survivor reminds me of a 90s style rock ballad. This song is very quickly becoming one of my favourites from this album the more I listen to it.
Words I Could Have Said – This song is different again, which is something that I love about this album. Midnight Shine is reinventing themselves on each track but yet staying the same at the same time as impossible as that might seem. This song has a somewhat celtic feel to the lyrics which interestingly works really well for Midnight Shine.
Heart of Gold – Easily the most anticipated track on High Road. When I was told that the new album would include a cover of Neil Young’s iconic track “Heart of Gold” I was both excited and nervous. Having come to know Adrian and the band I knew that they wouldn’t just do a straight up cover of this song, this is where the nervous excitement comes into play. Anytime you take a popular song and make it your own it’s a risk. In this case Adrian, with permission from Young’s publisher, included cuts of powwow singing, and the last verse of “Heart of Gold” was translated into Mushkegowuk Cree. The result is incredible. Midnight Shine’s “Heart of Gold” has breathed new life into a classic song.
Lonely Boy – A driving rock song that lyrically reminds me a little bit of the Skydiggers crossed with Blue Rodeo. I’m ok with that because I’m a huge fan of both bands.
Sister Love – This song was released as a stand alone single last year so it’s nice to see it find a home on this album. The title speaks for itself, it’s a song that celebrates the special bond that only siblings know. It’s the anthem for anyone who has a sister.
I Need Angels – This is a great song to end the album on. It’s a smooth balad style song in which I hear influences from Tom Petty, Neil Young and others.
High Road is an incredible album from start to finish. Each song is a separate journey which echos Adrian’s musical and spiritual influences. This is also the first MUST own album of 2018. This album has 2019 JUNO Nomination written all over it, at least we feel it deserves that much.
Special thanks RoseAnna Schick, who handles publicity and management for Midnight Shine, and their agent Ralph James.
For more on Midnight Shine and to buy the album visit them online at www.midnightshineonline.com
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