MURRAY SCURRIES OVER

Having spent the spring and early summer on tour in his native Canada supporting Metric followed byDeath From Above 1979, singer-songwriter Murray A. Lightburn will tour the UK and RoI in the early autumn. The tour will promote his new album, ‘Hear Me Out’, which was released in late February on Dangerbird Records and has garnered praise from publications on both sides of the Atlantic.

‘Hear Me Out’ sees Lightburn take a step away from his lengthy catalogue as frontman of esteemed indie rock band The Dears to focus on his craftsmanship and composition. Working with famed producer Howard Bilerman (Leonard Cohen/Arcade Fire/Godspeed You! Black Emperor) to sculpt the sounds, Lightburn brought together a stellar group of musicians to bring his work to life, including jazz guitarist Steve Raegele, bassist Rémi-Jean Leblanc, drummer Jeff Luciani (The Dears), plus singers Catherine McCandless (Young Galaxy) and Ariel Engle (La Force/Broken Social Scene).

The end result is a lush, romantic strings-and-soul record, unabashedly inspired by 50’s crooners, 60’s girl groups, Muscle Shoals and Motown. From the shimmering ‘Belleville Blues’ to the gospel slow jam ‘I Give Up’ to the celebratory ‘To The Top’, Hear Me Out is made up of ten fragile, unforgettably gorgeous pop songs about family, adult relationships and what you might call non-toxic masculinity.

“This album is about grown-up stuff,” says Lightburn. “Having kids, sustaining careers and relationships, finding that thing that keeps you together in the midst of other circumstances that could tear you apart.

The reason why the album is called ‘Hear Me Out’ is because it’s not only about expressing yourself, but listening too. Being able to communicate in a relationship is utterly crucial if you’re gonna survive anything.”