This live recording of Michael Bernard Fitzgerald’s latest single, recorded in a beautiful lakeside location in Canada, ends with the camera zooming increasingly closer. After the final notes are played, lingering and mingling with the sounds of wildlife, Fitzgerald smiles to himself: a warm, open smile, finding joy in the song, its meaning, the playing and his surroundings. It’s an engaging moment that works well with the intimate nature of ‘I Love That Sound’ and its lyrics. The sound referred to in the song is that of a dress sliding from a loved one’s body and landing on the ground. It is personal and romantic. This is the new single from ‘Love Valley’, Fitzgerald’s fifth album, which is due out in October. The album explores the warm, rural dream Fitzgerald has for his own life and imagines is there to be found for each of us. He explains: “I wanted to write about what I want to see, as opposed to what’s already been.” The resulting songs are layered, cinematic soundscapes, beautiful in their execution.
Fitzgerald says of the version of the song on the album: “This story and dream could be anyone’s, from any perspective – I think the addition of a female voice opens the song and story up to make room for the listener’s dreams as well. The instrumentation feels so good to me. I love the drop before the drums enter, Lyle Molzan plays live with us and made this track feel so good. The bass is warm and round, the acoustic is simple. We added Brett Resnik (Kacey Musgraves) with these effected sounding, sweeping pedal steel moments throughout.”
This autumn, Fitzgerald will take his socially-distant show on the road across Canada, performing for up to five families at a time in a travelling, open-air venue called ‘The Greenbriar’. Fans in the UK and USA will get the chance to see these intimate shows in spring 2021. Fitzgerald’s gentle melodies and delicate vocals lend themselves to such personal live shows. Look out for the new album and tour.
