3 new singles from Terry Uyarak, Jeremy Dutcher and Evan Redsky
It’s been a HUGE week for new singles from Indigenous artists here on Turtle Island.
Three artists who have all made considerable impressions over the past five years are back with new material, so let’s have a listen, shall we?
Jeremy Dutcher – “Ancestors too Young”
Pretty much from the moment Jeremy Dutcher released his 2018 debut album, Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, there were questions of how he could possibly follow it up. The album was a collection of traditional Mi’kmaq songs transposed onto piano and performed in Jeremy’s gorgeous operatic tenor. It was a once-in-a-lifetime album, deservedly rewarded with a Juno Award and the Polaris Music Prize. But Jeremy was just 27 when he released it. So what does he do for the rest of his lifetime now? Well, if “Ancestors too Young” is any indication, he does something totally different, an original pop song about grieving the loss of loved ones gone to soon. The sonic palette features mostly organic instrumentation, including some killer trumpet from Lina Allemano, and Jeremy has managed to to completely take leave of the operatic singing style and deliver an intimate, emotion-laden pop vocal performance. Now how does he follow THIS up? I can’t wait to find out.
Terry Uyarak – “Unnuaq”
Signed to the Jerry Can’s Aakuluk Music imprint, Terry released his debut album, Nunarjua Isulinginniani, in 2020 and promptly earned a Juno nod in the Indigenous album category. Now he’s back with more acoustic guitar-driven folk-pop, enhanced with electronic sonic landscapes. Unlike Jeremy Dutcher’s new single, this album is hardly a departure for Terry. More a case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” He just released the latest single, the title track, last week.
Evan Redsky – “Florabelle”
Evan Redsky released his debut album, Oblivion, last October and immediately grabbed people’s attention with the single “Blood Runs Like a River,” dedicated to Coulton Boushie. Our own Paul Corby put it on his list of favourite songs of 2022. Now Evan’s released a new single from the same album, “Florabelle,” a totally different kind of song, a tribute to his late grandmother and a song about the family history she embodied.
