Canadian roots rockers FREIGHTLINER find work/life balance on latest single “Up All Night”
The word “authentic” gets tossed around a lot these days when discussing new music, and on Freightliner’s new single “Up All Night,” the Canadian roots rockers make it clear how they manage to work hard and play hard in equal measure. The instantly catchy, hard-driving track recalls the glorious sound of early alt-country, when the likes of Uncle Tupelo and Steve Earle infused traditional sounds with punk rock attitude, while writing songs about small-time life.
As the chorus of “Up All Night” goes, “I’m up all night playing these songs, strumming these chords / Until the dawn, then it’s back to the farm / I’m working these hands, keeping things runnin’.” It’s the kind of honesty that’s become the hallmark of Freightliner’s creative force, Innes Wilson, who makes no bones about the fact that he and most other independent musicians have to balance their artistic passion with the reality of having day jobs.
“The truth is, we have to go to work to pay bills and keep this dream alive,” Wilson says. “That means we might only get a couple of hours of sleep after playing in a bar before we go back to work, like our guitarist R.P. McMurphy, whose daily routine starts at 3 a.m. But this is more of a romanticized version of what we go through to live this double life of rock and roll and working 9 to 5. We really tried to encapsulate the energy and passion we have to play music. It’s guaranteed that all of us in the band are thinking about music for 90 per cent of our workdays—apologies to our bosses!”
“Up All Night” follows Freightliner’s recent single “Love In Labrador” and displays the group’s continuing growth since it initially formed in 2019 to serve as Wilson’s backing band. Freightliner has now fully embraced Americana, with Wilson’s guitar and vocals augmented by guitarist R.P. McMurphy, drummer Joshua Osmond, and bassist Liam Vickery. Based in the university town of Guelph, Ontario, Freightliner recorded “Up All Night” with engineer Richie Gregor at his studio in nearby Puslinch, Ontario.
Although Wilson still makes his own indie-folk solo recordings, he says that the pandemic brought him and his bandmates closer together, and their increased collaboration made it seem natural for Freightliner to stand on its own.
Vancouver-born Innes Wilson has been a familiar name within Canada’s indie folk scene for the past two decades, with about a dozen solo releases to his credit, along with several coast-to-coast tours that included opening slots for The Sadies, Julie Doiron, and Timber Timbre. At the outset of his career, Wilson also worked closely with Adam Sturgeon of OMBIIGIZI and Status/Non-Status.
Now with Freightliner, Wilson has opened a new chapter, one that aims for simplicity, with more dive bar bangers and danceable weepers set to soon arrive on the heels of “Up All Night.”
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