Taking her “porch music with a little red dirt” in a slightly more indie rock direction (while still keeping the twang and grit her fans have come to know and love), Lynne Hanson has created aural magic with “Ice Cream in November,” her new album out April 22nd. It’s a glorious mash-up of Americana, folk, and the occasional indie production and song structure and sounds, made even better by Hanson’s trademark lyrical depth. There is a strong array of vibes on the album, providing a little something for everyone and every mood. The Ottawa-based singer-songwriter has created her best work to-date on “Ice Cream in November,” and it’s a strong contender for album of the year
Your album is really fantastic. Tell us how you came to gather this collection of songs together.
The making of “Ice Cream In November” was a completely new process for me, from the writing of the songs right down to the recording of them. To start with, I actually had some pretty intense writer’s block for most of 2020. I had been following my pal Blair Michael Hogan’s Instagram account as he posted snippets of instrumental songs he had been working on recording at home, and on a whim in early January 2021, I offered to write some lyrics and a vocal melody to one of them. I had just finished a “top line” remote co-write for a progressive rock tune with a songwriter from Sweden, and I had really enjoyed the process. We were in lockdown at the time, so Blair emailed me two tracks, and within the week I had turned them both into songs. I had also just signed a publishing deal with a publisher in Germany and had been getting pitch requests, so I asked Blair if he wanted to co-write a song for one of the requests that had come in. This started us on a path to co-writing a number of other songs, and suddenly we had enough to warrant making an album. In fact all but three of the songs on the new album are co-writes with Blair.
What was the recording process like? Did it go the way you expected? What was your favorite moment or moments in the studio?
At some point during the writing process, we decided to record the album ourselves. I’ve made eight studio albums prior to this one, but always in a commercial studio. With limited work and time on our hands, it seemed like the perfect time to try our hand at not only co-producing the record together, but also engineering it. The one caveat is that Phil Shaw Bova, who is a Grammy-nominated sound engineer, had already agreed to play drums as well as mix and master the album. So my feeling was that with a little guidance from my recording pals, a whole lot of YouTubing, and Phil’s expert ears to mix what we came up with, that we could tackle this on our own. Without the pressure of being on the clock in a commercial studio where time is money, I feel like we really had time to explore the songs in a way I’ve never done before, from extensive demo’ing and pre-production, to experimenting with parts, sounds, and instrumentation on every track. At the same time, there was the challenge of endlessly tinkering with songs to get them “perfect,” which can make one feel like a song is never actually “finished.” But all in all, I have to say that I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished with this album.
Do you have a favorite song on the album? What makes it stand out for you?
“Orion’s Belt” is secretly my favourite song on the album. Blair had originally written a guitar instrumental using that title, but his arrangement left me wanting to simplify the music to be able to really find the story behind the title. I asked him to comp the chords on a piano, and as he did that I pulled out my phone and started singing an entirely different melody on top. The production is intentionally sparse so that the lyrics are the real focus of the song. It feels strange to say I think there are some great lines in a song that I wrote, but the lyrics were really effortless to write, and I had a lot of creative joy in those moments where I was stringing all the words together. So while I think there are other songs on the album that are much “catchier,” this one appeals to the songwriter in me who is also a huge book nerd and lover of poetry.
What do you hope listeners take from listening to this album?
More than any of my other records, I feel like this album has a song for every mood. There’s up-tempo fun songs, gritty outlaw country songs, and the kinds of songs you put on repeat when you’re looking for a sad song to sink into to heal your hurt. I think our production approach allowed us to tie common sonic threads together from track to track, and the depth of the lyrics is that familiar element that makes this a record my existing fans will be able to relate to. The order has been constructed to really play out like a set list, so it’s the kind of album that a listener can enjoy from start to finish, but you can also seek out that special song or two that works for a given playlist.
How would you describe the music that you make? How has your music changed over the years? What makes this album different from or similar to past releases?
I’ve always referred to my music as “porch music with a little red dirt.” It’s a tag I came up with trying to describe the fusion of styles that seem to permeate my songs. I think, over the years, I’ve become less country-sounding and leaned more heavily into Americana. On this record, I really wanted to borrow some of the production techniques that I love in indie-rock and contemporary music without completely abandoning my musical roots. So we added beats to songs like “Ice Cream In November” and “Le Bon Moment,” and the album incorporates more synth and organ parts, as well as airy guitar pads to really glue some of the tracks together. I think the shift in style for some of the songs to be more indie-rock also pushed me as a lyricist to take more chances and let my weird sense of humour run free, which is how we ended up with songs like “Hip Like Cohen” and “One Of Those Days.”
What’s coming up next for you once the album comes out this week?
It’s been baby steps to get back out playing live shows for people, which has always been a huge part of what I do. At the moment, I’ve got a month long European tour in May that will see us playing shows in Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, and France. And then I’m back home in June for shows in Canada. I have a few new tunes in the hopper already that I’m in the process of demo’ing, and I’m working on a couple of song commissions as well. Live performance seems to be slowly coming back, so my team is busy lining up dates for late summer and beyond, and I’m just trying to roll with whatever happens over the next year or so.
