Having spent the last 20 years playing nearly every folk and jazz festival in Canada—and captivating audiences across the globe in Japan, Europe, Australia, Mexico, South America, the USA, and the Middle East—Juno-nominated songwriter Jill Barber’s newest turn is back to her folk roots. With her upcoming album, Homemaker—out February 10th via Outside Music—Barber delivers ten quietly profound songs about the complexities of motherhood, marriage, and the struggle to feel at home in one’s own identity.
It was over the past few years that Jill began to feel an increasing disparity between her public image as “Canada’s Sweetheart” and the reality of her domestic life as an overwhelmed wife and mother. “One day I was headlining Massey Hall, and the next day I was sweeping a messy hall” she quips. “I was afraid to break the spell of the more romantic version of myself that I put out there in the world and which helped define my career, but I eventually reached a breaking point where I needed to write this album in order to reconcile these two versions of myself and feel okay about all aspects of who I am.”
These songs tell the story of what happens to the young romantic when she reaches “middle age,” with Jill recasting “The Homemaker” as the hero of her own story, reclaiming its power for herself and others.
Holler premiered Barber’s first track from Homemaker, the illustrative “Instant Cash For Gold.” Holler described the track as “beautiful” acknowledging, “the track takes a step back and a long hard look inwards at motherhood, fame and self-identity.” Cleverly led by abandoned-dream pawn shop imagery, Barber turns the song on a dime and points it toward herself with the song’s crestfallen refrain: “One of these days I’ll quit the road and trade these old songs in / Like instant cash for gold.”
‘“Instant Cash for Gold’ is a reflection on the chasm that exists between the personal value that music holds for people, relative to its commercial value,” says Barber. “Sadly, the persistent undervaluing of music forces so many of us musicians to trade it all in—often in a defeated way, much like those willing to trade in their most valued possession out of pure desperation to have cash in hand.” Leave it to Barber to take arguably the most negative aspect of chasing a dream and turn it into a beautiful, three-minute tune—though her sentiment remains, loud and clear. “The never-ending hustle to make ends meet can really wear the shine off a career in music.”
Fans can watch the vibrant video for “Instant Cash for Gold” now at this link and be sure to pre-order or pre-save Homemaker ahead of its February 10th release right here. Barber’s tour continues in November with a week of dates in Austria. To stay up to date on future North American tour dates, please visit jillbarber.com/shows.
More About Homemaker: Written and recorded in Barber’s adopted hometown of Vancouver where she lives with her husband and two children, Homemaker is the first record that sees Jill in the role of a producer, co-producing with Erik Nielsen (City and Colour), and featuring some of Vancouver’s top session players like Paul Rigby (Neko Case), and Geoff Hicks (Colin James). “These songs are so damn personal, and such a deep reflection of my soul, that I felt an almost maternal instinct to both protect them and produce them for myself,” says Barber. “I really feel like I stepped into my own power as a producer on this record, with a lot of generous assistance from engineer/producer Erik Nielsen, who really championed my abilities in the studio.”
Homemaker is a return to Jill’s folk roots. Whereas her most recent albums have been bathed in lush string arrangements, Homemaker sees emotions laid bare, with a stripped-down production style reminiscent of her acclaimed debut Oh Heart and double Juno Award-nominated follow-up, For All Time. But mostly, Homemaker is a statement about the humility and strength that it takes to do the meaningful work of creating a home for others, while still holding space for your own dreams.
More About Jill Barber: Jill Barber is a three-time Juno Award nominated singer-songwriter with an unforgettable voice once heard, never forgotten. Her critically acclaimed repertoire spans a transformative spectrum from folk, to vocal jazz, to pop, and includes songs in both French and English.
Following up her 2018 album Metaphora, which featured the #1 hit song ‘Girl’s Gotta Do,” her breakthrough jazz album Chances was certified Gold for 40,000 copies sold in Canada. Jill’s work has earned her awards, such as the Sirius XM Jazz Artist of the Year and the East Coast Music Award for Album of the Year, and scores of fans, including Blue Rodeo, Ron Sexsmith, and Kris Kristofferson, who called Jill “a real songwriter, and a damn good songwriter.” Her evocative and timeless songs have been featured in film and TV, scoring shows such as Orange Is The New Black, The L Word, and Heartland, as well as powering a global advertising campaign for Chrysler with the track ‘Never Quit Loving You.’
An unforgettable, enchanting performer, Jill has headlined iconic venues such as Toronto’s Massey Hall and Roy Thompson Hall, Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre, and Tokyo’s Blue Note and Cotton Club.
