Edmonton, Canada’s St. Arnaud releases self-titled third album – the project of songwriter Ian St. Arnaud, returns with his mort fully realised and complete sounding work to date, displaying vibrant, joyous musicality contrast against some personal, melancholic songwriting across the 12 tracks.
Out now via Cordova Bay Records, the album see’s St. Arnaud embraces the energy of a full band, layered with drums, bass, keys, electric guitar, horns, pedal steel, and electric pianos, capturing the looseness and immediacy of musicians creating in real time.
“Starting an album for me feels like fumbling around in a dark room,” Ian says. “I think at one point I wrote something that resembled bad jazz? Ever so slowly, from an old notebook, something materializes when I struggle hard enough.”
That sense of searching defines the record’s emotional terrain. Lyrically, the album explores finding movement in times of stillness, shifting between narrators caught in unresolved past feelings and those attempting to anchor themselves in the present. Songs like ‘Strange Collection’, ‘Better Than Fine’, and ‘Pretend Like You Do’ linger in emotional undertow, while ‘How Lucky’, ‘Your House’, and ‘Sunshine’ reach, sometimes tentatively, for contentment.
Looking back, Ian sees a pattern. “It’s funny to see two distinct song types appear,” he notes. “Either dealing with unresolved feelings, or trying to be content in the present. Maybe there’s a third category too, where I’m just trying to crack a joke and lighten the mood. Those are usually my favourites.”
That tonal push and pull finds its clearest expression in ‘It’s Cool’, a smoky, horn laced slow burner that nods to the understated swagger of Paolo Nutini while hinting at something more unsettled beneath the surface. Developed in close collaboration with guitarist Tory Rosso, the track hinges on a deceptively simple refrain.
“The line ‘it’s cool’ becomes the thing you tell yourself when life is clearly anything but,” Ian explains. “It’s about the gap between what you show the world and what’s actually going on inside.”
That collaborative spirit runs throughout the album. With contributions from Connor Mead on drums, Jesse Shire on bass, Tory Rosso on guitar, Jonathan Chavez on trumpet, and producer Graham Lessard, the record thrives on shared instinct. Ideas that once might have remained fragments are now fully realized arrangements, shaped collectively in the studio.
“It was already happening,” Ian says, “but leaning into it felt like a big step, considering how this project began. Connor, Jesse, Tory, Jonny, and Graham all contributed lines, rhymes, choruses, life that I couldn’t on my own. That’s what it’s about. It’s a team sport.”
That chemistry was sharpened on the road. Midway through writing, the band tested new material across Europe, encountering everything from empty rooms in Southampton to packed 400 capacity shows in Bath. The unpredictability only reinforced the project’s ethos.
“What amazed us was the swing of it all,” Ian recalls. “One night no one’s there, the next it’s full. Or someone in the Netherlands drives across the country to see us every time we visit. That gamble, that mix of optimism and cynicism, is what we love.”
Musically, the album draws from an eclectic lineage, including the playful irreverence of Jonathan Richman, the melodic craftsmanship of Paul Simon, and the jangly brightness of Orange Juice. Rather than homage, St. Arnaud filters those influences into something distinctly its own, what Ian describes as the goofy side of self serious indie rock.
The result is a record that moves fluidly between styles, from rock songs to folk leaning ballads, danceable grooves, and quiet gut punches, all sequenced into a cohesive emotional arc. It is introspective without being heavy handed and playful without losing depth.
With St. Arnaud, the project captures a live energy that feels fully embedded in the recordings themselves, capturing the fun, vibrant essence of the full bands sound whilst still keep an intimate, heartfelt sincerity throughout.
St. Arnaud is out now via Cordova Bay Records, listen below:
