Vancouver alt-rock duo Dear Rouge share their long-awaited third full-length album, Spirit(out now via Pheromone Records). As the band wrote of the record, “Spirit is the most vulnerable and raw side of Danielle’s inner thoughts, and the line being thrown from these questions and deep reckonings within oneself, urging you to grab hold and hang on for dear life.”
The band recorded Spirit secluded away from busy cityscapes. Drew and Danielle took up residence in a lakeside cabin shortly after the release of PHASES, their sophomore record. The duo found themselves spending their days alone together, and Spirit began to take form over the winter months.
“I had this epiphany,” Danielle shared, “that we needed to come back to ourselves and the joy and comfort we found in each other when we began writing music together.”
Her epiphany meant a return to vulnerability, honesty, the enjoyment of their own art and an authenticity in working with what’s true for you. Instead of seeking out high brow co-writers and listening to too many outside voices, Danielle felt compelled to hear those already closest to her. On Spirit, the band enlisted Thomas D’arcy (Neko Case, July Talk, The Sheepdogs), their long-time collaborator Ryan Worsley (GUS, Mathew V), Broken Social Scenefounder Brendan Canning, close friend and drummer Daniel Klenner (Peach Pit, We Are The City), pop-star and former tour-mate Lights, as well as singer-songwriter Jordan Klassen, and producers Derek Hoffman, Frederik Thaae, and Herag Sanbalian.
Spirit is a different avenue of sound for Dear Rouge. Along with raw individual reflections, the duo strove for a more grassroots approach to the instrumentation. Acoustic guitars from the tracks’ demo stages remain audible. Songs written on piano are kept to their instrument of origin, instead of being replaced by synthesizers. Rather than opening a computer, Dear Rouge and Thomas D’arcy utilized Hammond organs, strings, and glockenspiels to create atmospheric elements. It’s all still distinctly Dear Rouge, but more personal, more vulnerable, and more intimate. Spirit is an inspiration to its listeners to be bold and brave; to foster, to create, to encourage and to celebrate ourselves and others.
