Here’s the dreamy indie-folk of the new single ’22’ by Manitoba-based The Secret Beach. Launching straight into the Micah Erenberg’s words, the song has an appealing honesty: “22 and not knowing what to do // I had just come out of love // And was falling hard for you.” Lyrically direct, ’22’ is a song of romance and regret that tells the story of Erenberg’s relationship with Winnipeg. His voice is beautifully melodic, tracing a tuneful journey through his open-hearted reflections, as pedal steel and 12-string guitar meander below on lonesome musical currents. In the accompanying video, the grainy footage from the Manitoba Department of Tourism and Recreation, courtesy of the Archives of Manitoba, reinforces the sense of nostalgia and the slippery passing of time as the world around us changes and drifts away.
Erenberg says of the song: “A song about being young in a frozen, gentrifying shithole. Inspired by the infamous Simpsons’ ‘Midnight RX’ (season 16, episode 6), where a welcome to Winnipeg sign reads ‘NOW ENTERING WINNIPEG. WE WERE BORN HERE, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?’ I’d like to dedicate this one to some of Manitoba’s finest street performers, Eric the Great, Blue McLeod and Curtis Falk. Frequenters of the Osborne Village strip. The last time I walked through that spot at night, there was no soul to be found. The live music spots were closed, some canned music played out into the street. Eric, Blue and Curtis had moved on to better spots, I guess. I still love that town…yeah, it’s a shithole, but it’s our shithole.”
The Secret Beach have announced a new album, ‘We were born here, what’s your excuse?’, which is due on 23rd August. Along with the focus single ’22’, two further songs have been released at the same time, giving listeners a taste of what to expect from the new record. It’s a tribute to Manitoba, full of character studies and themes of uncertainty and change that listeners anywhere can relate to. There’s an atmospheric warmth to the songs, in which you can lose yourself. Keep a look out for ‘We were born here, what’s your excuse?’, which could be the perfect soundtrack to your fading, late-summer evenings.
The Secret Beach is an ever-changing group of musicians, with Prairie-based song-writer Micah Erenberg at the centre. The group’s name is intended to suggest that an artist is not an island (or beach) standing alone and the contributions of all involved in the project help transform it into something special.
What a gorgeous song. Looking forward to the album.