MYRIAM GENDRON’S NEW ALBUM MAYDAY OUT MAY 10 VIA CHIVI CHIVI (CANADA), THRILL JOCKEY & FEEDING TUB
Following the recent announcement of her new album Mayday, out May 10, 2024, Myriam Gendron has shared the single “Terres brûlées”. Sung entirely in French, Gendron’s stately voice resounds over a solemn guitar arpeggio, her own guitar bolstered by guitarist Marisa Anderson moving in tandem who adds subtle tonal color. Throughout, double bass Cédric Dind-Lavoie and drummer Jim White add flurries of tension and momentum to the song’s resolute march.
Gendron elaborates on the song:
“This song represented one of the biggest writing challenges I’ve ever faced. Initially, I had a melody in my head. I came up with a chord progression that I played for days and days, humming my melody, unable to find the words. Obviously, I was dealing with a text in alexandrines. It’s a very intimidating form, associated in my mind with classical or romantic French poetry. I really couldn’t just say anything, I had to pull out all the stops, dare to be lyrical, pretend I was Baudelaire or Léo Ferré! And that’s what I did, letting the symbols take over. The additions of the guest musicians (Cédric Dind-Lavoie, Jim White, Marisa Anderson and Bill Nace) really enriched the song, which became a genuine soundscape. I’m not quite sure what the song’s about: I’d say there’s the idea of a ravaged landscape, a slightly post-apocalyptic atmosphere, but also a force of life that persists and seeks to express itself through the ruins of time. It is perhaps this force that has guided me over the past year. A few months after writing the song, the news of the fires ravaging Canada cast a different light on the lyrics. It seems that words always escape us.”
Gendron has privately described the mood of Mayday as dark, in part due to the fact it was assembled after her mother’s passing, but she is always capable of balancing and blending emotional content in a way that makes it ultimately hopeful. Buoyed by the profound ensemble of guest musicians she assembled for the record, including Jim White, Marisa Anderson, Bill Nace, Zoh Amba, and Cédric Dind-Lavoie, the music here certainly possesses a richly serious tone, but Myriam Gendron (like Leonard Cohen) is able to infuse her darkness with a subtle, powerful light that reminds us that even the most pitch-black night is but a transitional state.
Coming off of a lauded set at Big Ears Festival, Gendron will be touring in support of Mayday across North America with duo Jim White and Marisa Anderson, including sets at Thing in the Spring, Vancouver’s Coastal Jazz Festival, and a solo performance alongside Kurt Vile & the Violators.
TOUR DATES
Apr. 26 – Williamstown, MA – Clark Art Institute
May 16 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge ^
May 17 – Keene, NH – Thing in the Spring ^
May 18 – Montreal, QC – Lion D’or ^
May 20 – Portland, OR – Holocene ^
May 22 – Seattle, WA – Rabbit Box ^
May 23 – Vancouver, BC – Coastal Jazz @ St James Hall ^
May 24 – San Diego, CA – The Loft ^
May 25 – Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon ^
May 26 – San Francisco, CA – Sweetwater Music Hall ^
Jun. 28 – Toronto, ON – The Danforth Music Hall #
^ co-headline w/ Jim White & Marisa Anderson Duo
w/ Kurt Vile & the Violators