THE JOEL AFFAIR releases Lo & Behold EP + new single “Honest Opinion”
After previewing its third EP with the title track, The Joel Affair today releases Lo & Behold, another brief but spectacular collection by the recording project of Ontario singer-songwriter Joel Phair. Blending power pop and Americana with meticulous production, The Joel Affair offers a sound that follows the trail blazed by modern masters such as Conor Oberst, Craig Finn and Ted Leo.
Phair co-produced Lo & Behold with James McKenty (Blue Rodeo, Terra Lightfoot, Cuff The Duke), and as with the previous EPs by The Joel Affair — 2021’s Trying To Get By and 2024’s In Need Of Help — Phair handled the bulk of the instrumentation himself, from drums to rhythm guitars and keyboards. This time out, McKenty added lead guitars, additional keyboards and string arrangements, while Nathan Traux tracked most of the bass parts over the course of sessions that lasted from the end of 2025 into the start of 2026.
For Phair, Lo & Behold marks not so much a stylistic change, but a change of attitude that became infused in the new material. That notion is exemplified by “Honest Opinion,” the second single from Lo & Behold, a slow-burning commentary on the recent decline in human decency, and the growing trend for some to “other” people they don’t agree with.
Phair explains,
“I write songs, sometimes about flash thoughts, sometimes about life themes, but always about something that I have experienced and or have seen through my eyes and thoughts.”
Still, Phair doesn’t hesitate to express his admiration for Jeff Tweedy, who has been a big influence over the years, and whose shadow looms large over Lo & Behold.
“I have read and listened to many interviews with Tweedy and the thing that has stuck with me is a podcast where he was taking questions from listeners and one of the questions was ‘What advice do you give to aspiring artists?’ Jeff’s answer was, ‘Stop aspiring. Be the artist you want to be, you don’t need permission to be an artist, you don’t have to wait for someone or something to say you are, just create.’ That made me think, yeah you’re right! What is anyone waiting for?”
Indeed, The Joel Affair’s Lo & Behold builds a new sonic palace on top of an existing solid foundation, and is sure to leave listeners craving more.