Charlotte Cornfield: Andrew
The Toronto folk-rocker has just signed to Outside Music imprint Next Door Records. This advance single from a third album features unaffected vocals, smart lyrics, and crisp guitar, and is accompanied by a charming video.
By Kerry Doole
Charlotte Cornfield- "Andrew" (Next Door Records/Outside Music): The career of this folk-rock singer/songwriter has received a boost via her recent signing with Next Door Records, a new imprint from Outside Music.
That relationship launches with the April 5 release of her third album, The Shape of Your Name. In a label press release, Outside Music Managing Director Evan Newman explains that “I’ve long been an admirer of Charlotte’s music and knew she had this record in her. It’s an absolute honour to have The Shape of Your Name be the first release on Next Door Records."
The first single from the new LP, “Andrew” received its national radio premiere this past weekend via The Strombo Show. Cornfield says “Andrew” could be “a song to a friend or a romantic partner but at its core it’s note to self, a reminder to step back and look at the bigger picture instead of dwelling on the minutia. We all have friends who we want to shake sometimes because their priorities feel out of whack, but on the flip side of that sometimes we’re that friend who needs shaking. When things get messy and absurd, it helps to be able to laugh at yourself, to laugh with someone, to shake it off and move forward.”
The tune is spearheaded by Cornfield's direct and unaffected vocal style, smart lyrics ("you make me sad, like an undergrad with a guitar"), and atmospheric guitar playing. Charmingly accompanying the track is a video clip featuring a cameo by Brendan Canning (Broken Social Scene). Toronto music insiders will recognise the setting as Burdock, the excellent Toronto music listening room run by the multi-talented Cornfield.
Directed by Adrienne McLaren with Thom Varey as director of photography, the video features one of Cornfield’s closest friends, Sam Rosenberg. “I wanted to explore the nuances of our friendship and take this song out of myself,” says Cornfield. “I wanted us to sing to one another in familiar places (my house, their childhood home, onstage), let things get sentimental, let things be funny, let it all breathe."
The Shape Of Your Name features an impressive cast of collaborators including Grammy-winning engineer Shawn Everett, Broken Social Scene members Canning, Kevin Drew, and Charles Spearin, and Montreal songwriter Leif Vollebekk. One to look forward to.
Cornfield plays Megaphono in Ottawa on Feb. 8 and Jam Factory in Toronto on Feb. 9.
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