Reuben and the Dark: Hold Me Like A Fire

By Kerry Doole

Reuben and the Dark - "Hold Me Like A Fire" (Arts & Crafts): On the eve of a new Canadian tour, Reuben and the Dark (aka singer/songwriter Reuben Bullock) has released a new video for this previously unreleased fan favourite track.

The video, recorded at the National Music Centre in frontman Bullock’s hometown of Calgary, features a full 70-voice choir of fans and National Music Centre members joining the chorus. In December 2018, NMC welcomed Reuben and the Dark to Studio Bell as Artist in Residence, a program supported by Bell Media, and this recording concluded the residency.

In a press release, Bullock explains that "the song started as some kind of mantra for myself. I found I was singing the words over and over on an endless loop. It’s comforting. It felt healing. The first time we played it, the audience did the same thing, sang it over and over again past the end of the song. That’s all I want to do as a songwriter. Write something for myself, then give it away to be someone else’s. The song deals with finding comfort in the things that confuse you. Coming to peace with the things you don’t understand. Faith in chaos.”

Bullock's rich and resonant vocals are boosted but never overshadowed by the massed voices that transport the tune into gospel territory. Powerful stuff.

Reuben and the Dark's Canadian tour begins with a soldout show at Hamilton's Mills Hardware on Feb. 21, closing out at Kingston's Grad Club on March 6. There are further Ontario shows n June. Tour dates here

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