Modern stalwart of Canadian rock ‘n roll, Espanola (Aaron Goldstein), has announced his sophomore LP, Espanola, Again, slated for release on October 6th, 2023 via Sonic Unyon Records.
The album is produced by John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr, Alvvays, Waxahatchee), Goldstein’s sonic soulmate, and described as being “too rock ‘n roll for Americana, too earnest for indie.”
Following a long and arduous multi-year process for Espanola’s eponymous 2019 debut, Espanola, Again was recorded in 10 days at Goldstein’s own Gold Standard Recorders in Toronto, ON, live on the studio floor without the use of pitch-correction technology. Keen-eared listeners will hear Margo Price sideman Micah Hulscher on piano, Hammond and Farfisa organs, Wurlitzer piano, synthesizers, Goldstein’s soul sister and bassist Anna Ruddick (Randy Bachman, Ian Blurton’s Future Now), and Blue Rodeo drummer Glenn Milchem holding it down behind Goldstein, as well as features from Ian Blurton, Steve Marriner and The Northern Soul Horns, among others.
The record’s first single, “Look To The Sky,” was one of the last tracks written for the record. Goldstein felt like he was missing just one puzzle piece, something simple and catchy and possibly the most rock ‘n roll song on the LP. It was a chance to turn off his brain a bit and write something fun. Stream “Look To The Sky” via your preferred platform.
Watch the video for “Look To The Sky” below and learn more about Espanola via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hi, I’m Aaron, you might have seen me playing pedal steel or guitar with all kinds of Canadian songwriting royalty over the past 15+ years. Or maybe you know of a record or two that I’ve produced. Or maybe you’ve heard my first Espanola record from a few years ago.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
This is my second record for the Espanola project. The first one was years in the making. This one was written in a relatively short period of time and recorded the same way. Pretty much all of it got done in about 10 days at my studio in Toronto. I was super lucky that John Agnello agreed to come to town and produce it for me. He and I really saw eye to eye on the sonics and the arrangements and just about everything. He was invaluable to the making of the record.
I also was lucky enough to have some of the best in the biz, and some dear friends, play on the record with me. I’m the kind of guy who plays everything, and I often do on records that I’m producing. So when it comes to choosing players, I need people who bring something to the table that I cannot do myself. If I have to mention in particular, Glenn Milchem, Anna Ruddick, Micah Hulscher, and Carleigh Aikins. They formed the core band on this record, and each of them brought their a game. I’m so lucky to call them all collaborators and friends.
Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?
The instrumental stuff just comes out of my fingers, if I ever slow down for a moment to give myself a chance to play some guitar. I keep a little catalogue of hooks and riffs in my phone. Same with lyrics – the inspiration comes from wherever, life, my brain, There’s even a song on this record that grew out of a phrase my young son was repeating in his car seat a few years ago. And again, when my schedule allows a little bit of writing time, I open up my phone and I try and piece together the instrumental hooks and the lyrical bits and see what I can come up with. It’s not a terribly advanced process, but it works really well for me. I really believe that a song needs to have a reason to exist beyond “I felt like writing a song“. A great hook or lyric is a good reason to write.
Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?
Wed Oct 18 Hamilton, ON Mill’s Hardware
Thu Oct 19 Ottawa, ON House Of Targ
Fri Oct 20 Toronto, ON Cameron House (back room)
Sat Oct 21 Toronto, ON Cameron House (back room)
Thu Oct 27 Utrecht, NL TivoliVrendenburg
Fri Oct 28 Deventer, NL Burgerweedhuis
Sat Oct 29 Eindhoven, NL Alstadt
Mon Oct 31 Leiden, NL Q-Bus
Wed Nov 2 Gent, BE Charlatan
Fri Nov 4 Groningen, NL Take Root Festival
Sun Nov 6 London, UK Oslo
Mon Nov 7 Oxford, UK The Bullingdon
Tues Nov 8 Glasgow, UK The Hug & Pint
Wed Nov 9 Newcastle, UK The Cluny 2
Thurs Nov 10 Nottingham, UK The Old Cold Store
What’s your goal for 2023?
To play my songs with my awesome band in front of as many people in as many cities as possible!