Christine by Canary Room

In her work as Canary Room, singer/songwriter Maddy Heide excavates a deep well of nostalgia, reaching for truth beyond what can be contained in a mere picture frame. On her new EP Christine, which features some of her most poignant and heartrending songwriting yet, we hear Heide situating idyllic scenes from her childhood in Wisconsin into a new life in Portland, holding them to her heart while watching them fall away in time; “The space gets wider and wider,” she sings on opener “Calla.” These songs are sentimental but never regressive; just as Heide effortlessly distills traditional folk forms down to their essences, her lyricism whittles away at her memories until they feel universal, with just enough space left for us to impose our own reflections. Maddy’s bell-clear alto voice is rightly placed front and center, requiring little accompaniment save for her delicate yet deft fingerpicking and some ambient birdsong; recorded to tape en plein air—in my overgrown yard, as a matter of fact—by Emmet Martin (Bud Tapes, World Record Winner), the EP’s lo-fi production adds a layer of dreaminess that positions it further out of time. Like a lily facing the moonlight, the wistful songs on Christine seem to continually fold in upon themselves only to reveal further grace and beauty.

pdx cds xoxo