Acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter Skye Wallace is back, announcing her highly anticipated new album, The Act of Living, arrives November 1, 2024 via Tiny Kingdom. Produced alongside Hawksley Workman, The Act of Living finds Skye fully embracing the grungy, unbridled enthusiasm of their live performances, as they invite listeners on a journey of near-death experiences, dream worlds, loss, and rebirth.
Alongside the announcement, Wallace shares the incredibly infectious, “Dead End”. Interweaving face-scrunching guitar riffs from Ryan Dahle (Limblifter, Mounties, Age of Electric), Hawksley’s Workman’s groove-driven drums, and Wallace’s unmistakable ethereal harmonies, the track is a powerful introduction to the upcoming album’s edgier sonic shift.
“This was my take on a work of fiction dictating the story of the Reaper falling in love and being very upset about it,” explains Wallace. “I wanted to capture the eternal exhaustion of the infernal job title, and the wild panic that love instills in the heart of the Great Reckoner. I based the concept initially on City of Angels, where Nicholas Cage’s character is an angel who falls in love with a human and is given the choice to give up immortality and eternity in order to spend it with her. ‘Dead End’ is about a similar offer given to Death. The single is paired with an audio drama by the same name, featuring sound design by award-winning podcast editor J Strautman.”
“The song features incredible raucous guitar tones by Ryan Dahle, drums by my collaborator and co-producer Hawksley Workman, approximately a million vocal layers, and synthy spells concocted during a writing retreat I spent, alone, in an old cottage hospital in Western Newfoundland.”
With nods to Mitski, Laura Jane Grace, and The Knife, Wallace’s fifth studio LP blends heavy, grungy jams with tender, acoustic moments, all tied together by her unflinching lyricism. The Act of Living is all at once energizing, grinding, brittle, and electric; a sonic journey examining death and the ways it pushes life ever forward.
“This record is about embracing the inevitable and finding meaning in the cycles of life and death,” says Wallace. “I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on the fragility of life, and this album is my way of processing those thoughts and feelings.”
Skye Wallace will be celebrating the release with a special, launch day performance with Wild Black & Ash Molloy at Toronto’s The Great Hall, November 1. Tickets Available HERE.
Upcoming Tour Dates
Sep 27 – Huntsville, ON @ Secret Location
Sep 29 – Orillia, ON @ Orillia Youth Centre
Oct 15 – London, ON @ Rum Runners
Oct 16 – Windsor, ON @ Meteor
Oct 19 – Guelph, ON @ Sonic Hall
Oct 23 – Oshawa, ON @ Biltmore Theatre
Oct 24 – Peterborough, ON @ Market Hall
Oct 25 – Kingston, ON @ The Broom Factory
Oct 26 – Ottawa, ON @ Club SAW
Oct 31 – Hamilton, ON @ Mills Hardware
Nov 01 – Toronto, ON @ The Great Hall
