Youngtree & The Blooms return with their nine-song album
Newfoundland’s Youngtree & The Blooms has unveiled their self-titled album, Youngtree & The Blooms. This nine-song collection establishes frontman Peter Youngtree as one of the most engaging new voices within the Americana scene.
As demonstrated by the previously shared singles, “Heaven Ain’t A Lonely Road” and “Waiting For Us (Let’s Make The Time For It),” Youngtree & The Blooms is packed with melodic, ragged-but-right arrangements complementing Youngtree’s heart-swelling lyrics.
The band has also unveiled their latest single, “Seas Change,” along with a video to accompany the release. Watch it here.
Listen to Youngtree & The Blooms below and learn more about the band via our 10-Question Interview.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Sure! I’m Peter Youngtree, songwriter and frontman of the Newfoundland alt-country band Youngtree & The Blooms. I like dogs more than cats.
You unveiled your self-titled album on October 14. What can you tell us about the writing process behind the release?
I had a natural urge to write more positive, uplifting songs for this album, getting away from the mortality theme of our last record and examining life through lenses of friendship, love, trust, and self-reliance.
You’ve released three singles, “Heaven Ain’t A Lonely Road,” “Waiting For Us (Let’s Make The Time For It),” and “I’m Not That Anymore.” How did you choose these tracks as singles?
They all have a driving beat and good, singable choruses, don’t they? And I think the lyrics are relatable to a lot of people, especially “Heaven Ain’t a Lonely Road” and “I’m Not That Anymore.”
You worked with Mark Feener on the album. How was that experience?
Yes, Feener both engineered and co-produced the album with me. I would say it was a transformative experience. He really got me leaning into the studio process more, experimenting with new instruments and ideas, and taking risks in my own performances. It was a lot of fun, making me excited about getting into the studio again and playing around with new stuff.
You won the Ron Hynes SOCAN Songwriter of the Year award, plus multiple MusicNL awards and nominations. How does it feel when you earn these awards, knowing it all stems from your hard work and love of music?
It’s cool to be recognized by a group of your peers as having done something worthwhile. As an artist, you must rely heavily on yourself for most things – most people won’t tell you if your actions are terrible. Luckily, I’ve made a few trusted friends who are willing to tell me if what I’m doing isn’t really working, which helps me hone my craft. But with an award, it’s kind of like anonymous, crowd-sourced, affirmative feedback. The Ron Hynes award was cool because I knew people were considering my whole catalogue from that year when they made their choices.
You’ve mentioned before that Gord Downie was a very early influencer for you. Who else has influenced you through the years?
Yes, Gord’s lyrics amazed me from a young age. I loved the Everly Brothers and Roger Miller as a child, and a bunch of 50’s and 60’s pop bands: Patsy Cline and The Shirelles and Del Shannon and a million other great artists. Got into the acoustic folk of Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Dylan, and Cat Stevens in my teens. John Prine as an adult. Anyone who can write a good song that doesn’t need bells and whistles to be interesting, I’ll listen to it.
How did you stay up to date with your fans during the pandemic?
Early on, I hosted and co-produced a bi-weekly online songwriters’ series with The East magazine called “Youngtree Plus Three.” That was really lovely. We had some great songwriters on there, like Tara MacLean, Sherry Ryan, Max Marshall, and Rachel Beck, and I met a lot of new writers through doing it.
What is your favourite thing about the music scene in St. John’s, NL?
It is as unpretentious as you could ever hope for, which suits me very well. I don’t like when people get caught up in trying to be something particular: “cool,” or “dark,” or “sad,” or whatever. I like when people just be themselves and enjoy what they do, and it’s easy to do that in St. John’s.
With Halloween so close, it’s only fitting to ask, what’s your favourite Halloween treat?
Oh man, those tiny bags of plain chips – so crispy and salty and fun!
What can we expect from you for the remainder of 2022?
We’ve got our album release concert on November 5th at First Light Centre in St. John’s. After that, you can expect me to be at home a lot, playing and writing and sitting behind my laptop, promoting the hell out of this album, and booking gigs for 2023!
Connect with Youngtree & The Blooms:
Website
Bandcamp
Facebook
Instagram