St. Arnaud

Edmonton indie-pop songster St.Arnaud is a little bit of everywhere to everyone. Working alongside his brother and fellow creative, the YouTube animator GingerPale, St.Arnaud found a loving home on YouTube and Spotify with legions of eager listeners and was swept up in dozens of tour dates across Canada, Europe, and the USA. His debut album was a DIY tour-de-force of fun-loving melodies overlaying themes of death, loss, and anxiety. His new album, 2022’s Love and the Front Lawn continues the sad lyrics/happy melodies framework but with a new instrumental palette. St.Arnaud has performed with Basia Bulat, Reuben and the Dark, and Lucy Rose among countless others and has performed at stages across the world including at Reeperbahn, New Colossus Festival, FOCUS Wales, and Tallinn Music Week. St.Arnaud has been featured on Exclaim!, BeatRoute Magazine, Indie 88, Earmilk, Dusty Organ and more. “Catching Flies” has already made it to the CBC Radio 3 top 10.

“I want the album to continue the thread of self-reflection, vulnerability, and rawness” that made up The Cost of Living (2019) says St.Arnaud, “but with notable departures in texture and form.” Steeping in the likes of the raucous and fun-loving 70s’ Big Star and Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers, the ghostly and intimate Damien Jurado, and the wandering and clever narratives of Charlotte Cornfield, Ian didn’t forget about his innate talent for writing singable hooks and to practice his sha-la-las.

Moving through self-doubt, loving, leaving and being left, and anxiously wasting away through some of the best years of one’s life, Love and the Front Lawn is the catchiest self-reminder to be kinder to yourself, to let go and try to enjoy where you are. Working with producer Graham Lessard (Basia Bulat, Timber Timbre, Stars) brings out the texture and dark corners of the songs through slippery slide guitar and keyboards throughout. Harkening back to 60s protest folk and 70s early indie, Ian’s beaming, clever lyrics belay the more cerebral themes of the songs. Simply orchestrated and impeccably composed, St.Arnaud takes head-on themes of death, loss and resilience with sardonic humour and heart-on-the-sleeve, puppy-love honesty.