THE SECRET BEACH SHARES “BUYING YOU A GARNET AMP”, “WHERE DID IT GO?”, AND “BLAME MANNY”, ALL FROM UPCOMING LP
WE WERE BORN HERE, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?, THE NEW LP FROM THE SECRET BEACH, OUT AUGUST 23, 2024 VIA VICTORY POOL RECORDS
WATCH / SHARE “BUYING YOU A GARNET AMP” HERE
BUY / STREAM “BUYING YOU A GARNET AMP” HERE
Photo Credit : Colin Medley // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
The Secret Beach is an ever-shifting group of musicians and co-conspirators orbiting around the songs and voice of Prairie-based songwriter Micah Erenberg. The band moniker – in the same vein as classic groups Guided By Voices, The Byrds, and Tame Impala – helpfully points out that a songwriter is not an island (or indeed, a beach) unto themselves, and the contributions from the involved parties go a long way in making this project what it is.
Today, Erenberg is sharing three new songs from the upcoming album. “Buying You A Garnet Amp” follows the storyteller’s journey on their search to find the illustrious Garnet Revolution II guitar amplifier as a gift for their significant other. The amp is a particularly sought after model that was a favourite of many including the late Dallas Good of the Sadies.
The story is the single-most defining activity of a Winnipeg musician: buying a renown Winnipeg-made Garnet Amplifier on Canada’s favourite buy-and-sell website, Kijiji. In the 1960s Winnipeg-made Garnet amps took on worldwide acclaim when they were popularized by artists like The Guess Who. They became known as indestructible amps and the company was even later commissioned to make amps for esteemed companies such as Gibson and Fender. Today they are sought after by musicians and recording studios around the globe, however the best place to find them is always a Winnipeg Kijiji search.
The single is accompanied by a video by Dog Days Film Co. which follows the same storyline as the song.
WATCH / SHARE “BUYING YOU A GARNET AMP” HERE
BUY / STREAM “BUYING YOU A GARNET AMP” HERE
“Buying You A Garnet Amp” Artwork // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
“Where Did It Go?” is the first Secret Beach song to feature a new lead vocalist. The song was written and performed by Daniel Diamond, who also plays drums and acoustic guitar on the track. Daniel and Erenberg are lifelong friends and frequent collaborators. The cover photo above is a picture of them doing art as kids, not too dissimilar to the hangs they get in these days. The song follows an aching soul, searching for lost purpose. The story is surrounded by swirling, Wilco-esque guitarmonies and is absolutely baked in near-campfire levels of homegrown goodness.
BUY / STREAM “WHERE DID IT GO?” HERE
“Blame Manny” is a classic bedroom style recording about a person who mistakenly gets identified as the culprit in a convenience store robbery. Later, the accused comes face to face with the actual robber and a legendary episode of fisticuffs ensues.
BUY / STREAM “BLAME MANNY” HERE
The songs were recorded on three different tape mediums; a Tascam 38, a Fostex B-16 and a Tascam 388, respectively. Each one was recorded in a different space and with their own unique approach to production.
MORE ABOUT WE WERE BORN HERE, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?
The new LP, We Were Born Here, What's Your Excuse?, is unquestionably a musical delight (more on that later), but it's also a subtle nod to the oft-overlooked Canadian province of Manitoba, lazily known to many as either a landlocked frozen tundra or the butt of a joke on The Simpsons (season 16, episode 6), where a welcome to Winnipeg sign reads 'NOW ENTERING WINNIPEG. WE WERE BORN HERE, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?'"
Musically, one of Erenberg's primary inspirations for this record was the classic Bob Dylan & The Band album Planet Waves. The casual, homespun vibe of that LP had long held a special appeal for the songwriter, and after deep-diving on some of the album's finer details, Erenberg discovered that Planet Waves' producer, Rob Fraboni (also known for his work with the Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, and Tim Hardin, to name but a few) was still active and, as it turned out, still open to working with new projects. After a few phone calls, it was decided that Erenberg would travel to the veteran producer's studio of choice in Connecticut where the two spent five days marinating in the songs. Fraboni offered his enthusiastic perspective on the tunes, shared some of his well-honed musical philosophies, and a friendship was quickly cultivated. The songwriter stuck this experience in his back pocket and used it as fuel to write a few more songs and complete the final mix of the album.
We Were Born Here, What's Your Excuse? is an album teeming with warmth; its 17 tracks casually unfurl spools of intimate texture, hushed melodies, and a wholly inviting atmosphere that puts the listener virtually in the same room as these timeless tracks. The songs – many of them barely cracking the two-minute mark – fly effortlessly by, nodding to many major players in the pop music canon. The spectre of Elliott Smith hovers over many corners of the record, including opener “Beautiful Everything” as well as the achingly tender one-two punch of “Long Distance Gossip” and “Natural Metaphor”. And indeed, whiffs of Dylan and The Band appear throughout, with the latter uniquely evoked in the album's organic, live-band feel, and the former's lyrical mastery mirrored throughout. More contemporary touchstones like Brooklyn indie-folk auteurs Woods and M. Ward (“Where Did It Go?”) are also apparent, and early '00s heroes Grandaddy are called to mind on “LA Haircut”, a cleverly sardonic critique of misplaced ambition.
WATCH / SHARE “22” HERE
BUY / STREAM “22” HERE
While Erenberg played a whole pile of instruments on the album himself, The Secret Beach wouldn't be what it is without the help of the carefully selected crew of fellow travellers tastefully deployed throughout the album. We're talking about the sort of players whose first priority is to shine a light on this collection of songs, seeming almost invisible in the apt-ness of their contributions; but repeat listens will have the listener revelling in the finer details, which include vocals and pedal steel from acclaimed country duo Kacy & Clayton, keys and guitar courtesy of Liam Duncan (aka Boy Golden), and duel backing vocals from Duncan and frequent bandmate Fontine. Erenberg captured the album on a variety of classic vintage tape machines, burnishing the album with a sepia-toned analog patina that makes it sound as if it could have been made any time in the last five decades. And while the spirit of Planet Waves looms large, one would be forgiven for hearing hues of early McCartney solo albums, Big Star's Third, and fellow Canadian DIY legend Chad VanGaalen.
WE WERE BORN HERE, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?
01 Beautiful Everything
02 Sunspill
03 Buying You A Garnet Amp
04 22
05 All This Living
06 Have You Seen The News?
07 If You Don't Love Me, Let Me Go
08 Blame Manny
09 Sucked Into It
10 L.A. Haircut
11 Long Distance Gossip
12 Not So Bad
13 Natural Metaphor
14 Where Did It Go?
15 Hat's Way of Walking