Woodpigeon

I often submit some things to the annual Tiger Bomb list of Favourites for the year, and you can find this year's collection linked below, and my choices with Bandcamp links right here! And yes, I've forgotten loads of things that caught my ear these past twelve months, but these were just four particular stand-outs by artists that I love.

Laurie Torres’ 'Après coup': A record perfect to work to, relax with, or dive into. And once it ends, it’s so easy to just put it back on again. https://laurietorres.bandcamp.com/album/apr-s-coup

Elle Barbara’s Black Space's 'Word on the Street': A hugely satisfying masterpiece of sci-fi glam, pulsing rhythms, and even a sample of Montréal’s métro that kicks ‘Your Favourite Meal’ into high-gear, released by the influential K Records. This one’s definitely being slept on. https://ellebarbarasblackspace.bandcamp.com/album/word-on-the-street-2

Justin Karas’ 'Flowers Wild Abound': A beautiful harp folk record that’s spruced up by rich orchestral arrangements and Karas’ beautiful vocals. A perfect fall record. https://justinkaras.bandcamp.com/album/flowers-wild-abound

Naomi McCarroll-Butler and Jason Doell’s 'FOUR FORMER MYRRH FORMERS FORMED HER HORN FOR MURMURS': Naomi McCarroll-Butler can do anything and it’s sure to be magical, from her place as a mainstay in Beverly Glenn Copeland’s backing band to her sound explorations, including this one with Jason Doell. Headphones up! https://jasondoellnaomimccarroll-butler.bandcamp.com/album/four-former-myrrh-formers-formed-her-horn-for-murmurs

Oh and because I wrote that list so fast, I somehow managed to miss adding Devours's 'Sports Car Era': Jeff Cancade is really one of the best in Canada (even if he keeps threatening to quit making music), and this fifth Devours record is as good as the rest. He's literally the best q***r alien synth slayer going rn. https://devours.bandcamp.com/album/sports-car-era

https://tigerbombpromo.com/favorites-of-2025

FAVORITES OF 2025 — TIGER BOMB PROMO cargo.site

I will never get over just how many times and with how many groups around the world this little Woodpigeon song has been performed. I'm endlessly surprised every time someone sends me another video of another performance in another country (this one in Australia). Live on, little song about a ship full of people drowning! Live on! 🏴‍☠️

As the Ship Went Down - Woodpigeon, arr. George Chung | Concordis Chamber Choir As the Ship Went Down - Woodpigeon, arr. George Chung, performed by Concordis Chamber ChoirLUNA - Collingwood Town Hall (Melbourne, Australia) Conductor: Phi...

A show! Very pleased to help welcome Justin Karas’ album Flowers Wild Abound into the world. And thinking I’ll play some new things too. 🤘

Casa del Popolo | La Sala Rossa | La Sotterenea Montreal concert venues

Take a listen to the new Woodpigeon / Little Scream duet 'Death Defying Love' from the soundtrack of 'Adrianne & the Castle' out now on Spotify!

Death Defying Love Little Scream, Woodpigeon · Adrianne & the Castle (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) · Song · 2025

So then, song 8 of Woodpigeon’s ‘Treasury Library Canada’ 15th anniversary recollections fun times gets us now to ‘Anna, Girl in the Clocktower’. Around the time we made this record, we were so actively trying out new songs week-in, week-out that when asked us to play one of his RAMP shows at Broken City, I responded by writing a rock opera called ‘Redbeard’ which was performed that one time and never again. We even had narration and artwork all sorted out for that solitary performance. This, along with ‘… And When the Ship Went Down, You’d Never Looked Finer’ and ‘Redbeard’ (both on the *next* record) was part of that whole series of songs.

But ‘Anna’ was mostly one of the songs I wrote for a friend, which I did fairly often at the time. In this case , who I always thought of as a unicorn and truly befitting a dramatic song, deserving of a mini epic. So, I imagined her waiting in a clocktower overlooking the sea (realizing now it would make more sense as a lighthouse, but whatever), waiting for the return of her beloved who’d already drowned. (So not only is it a friend song, it’s also one of my several drowning songs).

Recording this one was quick. Brooker Buckingham came in and played some noisy guitar on it, as did . It swells nicely in an oceanic kinda way, which I’d wanted. Arran has always been great at figuring out what I mean when I describe how stuff sounds in my head. I have no recollections of any struggle.

We didn’t play this one live very often. Once we did it at a packed show in Nottingham, UK, and made it into a medley with Weezer’s ‘Say It Ain’t So’ which we thought was much cooler than the audience did. But I still like the emotion in this one. “Goddamn please don’t leave me!” is a nice closing send-off.

Thinking back on this one also makes me think of a song called ‘Pianette’ which was part of the whole ‘Redbeard’ thing but was never recorded. I’ve always thought that was a bit of a shame, because the way that one ended in a big send-off singalong always made me happy. It remains one of two songs I’d always regretted not capturing back then. Maybe in 2025 I can rectify that too.

https://open.spotify.com/track/272Ymy2ejbtaUFZnh89L57?si=nTuu-rSESqmFtC2efQXLoA&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A4YqBe0Gkr2TxbklWbLNw5C

Anna, Girl in the Clocktower Woodpigeon · Treasury Library Canada c/w Houndstooth Europa · Song · 2009

‘Cities of Weather’ is the 5th song on ‘Treasury Library Canada’, named for ’s collection of short stories of the same name. Put simply is a bit of a crush song because I crushed on Mr. Fox a little bit when we met and he gave me one of his last remaining copies. I mean, here was a published author who wasn’t just handsome but I think we talked about The Magnetic Fields and Arthur Russell and that was enough for me to be mildly smitten kitten for a moment way back when.

I wouldn’t say I’ve ever been particularly smooth, so the idea with this song was the hope that maybe, were our initial crossing of paths to ever be written down or fictionalized, it could and would be improved upon a little bit. “Write the story down much better than that,” perhaps a bit of a plea. I was a little hopeless sometimes, but such is youth. And I’ve never been shy about putting names in songs and titles. If there’s a name in a song, it’s safe to say that’s the name of the person it’s about. Particularly when it comes to guys. Fair play.

Now I consider Mr. Fox a sweet friend and love when we intersect. He’s just released a new book, which I’m excited to read. I like knowing we’re both still creating in our own worlds, this song and album having come out 15 years ago.

Just 5 tracks in, and I’m kinda blown away by how many surprises there are in these songs. I’d entirely forgotten about the backing vocals in the second verse, and an organ part that jumped out as a “oh that’s nice” surprise. I can’t remember when the last time I listened to this album was, and doing it song by song like this has been like re-opening the most joyful photo album that’s gathered dust in a drawer for years. I even had the order of songs entirely different and scrambled in my head and wrote about an entirely different song which comes somewhat later in the track list.

But what’s hitting me most with this song is I’m realizing how I can be entirely invested and obsessed with the minutiae of a piece of music and live inside of it when writing and recording it, and once it’s done and out there it can disappear from me for a bit. This one feels like a warm sweater, a hug, a swoon.

https://open.spotify.com/track/4K8JI4ZMdlKmIKQ9JwHSCz?si=qc2Vt3vMS96KVp0Q5es0VA

Cities Of Weather Woodpigeon · Treasury Library Canada c/w Houndstooth Europa · Song · 2009

It's already late December and I've barely made a dent in these song-by-song posts commemorating the 15th anniversary of our album 'Treasury Library Canada c/w Houndstooth Europa', but I'm going to step it up these last days of the year, I promise. 'I Live A Lot Of Places' is one of the songs I've probably played live most, because I've always felt rather close to it. The idea of where home was/is exactly has always been a bit of a question mark for me—even now, after 9 years settled in Montréal there's parts of me wondering what it would be like somewhere else. So even though I wrote this song when I was a somewhat younger person, the sentiment of having lived a lot of places "but none are mine" still sticks. The musical construction of this one makes me proud—although if working on it today, I don't think it would necessarily have the shuffle that it has here. Live, it's usually picked and quiet, maybe a harmony or two to let the words stick out a bit more. But in terms of the core 8-person band that we were at the time of recording this, I think it's one of our best collective recordings. I wouldn't say I feel any more settled in place than the version of me singing this song, and in part that's what makes 'I Live A Lot Of Places' continue to hold a particular place in my heart even now.

I Live A Lot Of Places Woodpigeon · Treasury Library Canada c/w Houndstooth Europa · Song · 2009

I made this 25 minute film loop with Simone Beaudry-Pilotte of the Archives gaies du Québec and its screening as part of Fierté Montréal / Montréal Pride 2024 on Friday nights at Parc de l’Espoir … except this Friday due to the rain. BUT there’s one last screening of it from 21h00-23h00 on 16 August 2024, so feel free to swing by at any time between then. 🏳️‍🌈

Le sida en 4 volets | Archives gaies du Québec | Fierté Montréal Des archives inédites de la lutte contre le VIH/sida : photographies, affiches et citations, seront mises en valeur lors de 4 projections au Parc de l’Espoir.

July 20, 2024, Adrienne and the Castle, co-written and co-created by my collaborator Laurel Sprengelmeyer, has its Québec premiere at Fantasia Film Festival and also marks the first time (except for a little preview at MAI/SON a few weeks back) our new music project Brittle Dreams will make its presence known in Montréal. If you’re free, join us! 🌟

Fantasia Festival | Adrianne & the Castle A documentary about Alan and Adrianne—their love, his grief and the magic that breaks down the line between dream and reality.

A total flashback I’d never seen before that someone just forwarded from 2010. Woodpigeon played in a packed schoolhouse in Drumheller for CKUA Radio and it was a sweet, sweet time. I didn’t even remember some of these arrangements, but it’s bringing back the fondest of memories. 🎶

Woodpigeon in Drumheller Woodpigeon, recorded in Drumheller during a live radio program. Here, I think, are some of the tunes they played- and likely not in the correct order. Sorry....