ST ARNAUD // 25.05.24

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 and the USA. His debut album was a DIY tour-de-force of fun-loving melodies overlaying themes of death, loss, and anxiety.

By the release of his debut album St.Arnaud found himself to be an old hand on the folk festival circuit, a University graduate in Neuroscience, an accidental overdose survivor, and at a loss for what to do with himself next. The previous fall his bandmate, friend, and at times antagonist, was hit by a train, thus dissolving his Americana/folk pop trio North of Here. To honour the loss of his friend, St.Arnaud reworked and rewrote the songs he had written for the already hauntingly titled The Cost of Living. Harkening back to ‘60s protest folk, Ian’s beaming, clever lyrics belay the more cerebral themes of the songs behind bouncing doot-doots and la-las. 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.