Last month, Montreal songstress Martha Wainwright revealed her upcoming LP Love Will Be Reborn is set for release on August 20 and shared the first song and title track from the record. Complete with a stunning video that’s a true family affair with Martha’s two sons playing key roles, the song signals a new phase in Wainwright’s life and career.
Today, Wainwright shares another new track “Falaise de Malaise” – Martha’s first original song featuring a mix of French & English lyrics. Listen to the track here.
Trying something new and truly challenging herself on this single, Martha explains:
Falaise de malaise is a first for me! Not only is it in "Franglais" (a mix of English and French) but I’m actually playing the piano - which I don’t actually know how to do! I've been sitting at the piano for years trying to find a song for the simple piano part that my fingers could play. While doing this I thought, well might as well try writing in French too! I was able to tap into another version of myself - one that was dying to come out. I’ve always sung in French (Piaf record and various covers..) but this is the first time I’ve allowed myself to compose in it. I’ve always watched others move to the music at the 88 keys but this time I sat down to play them myself. What came out was “Falaise de Malaise" - a dreamlike romp through a mythological landscape.
Like most records this year, Love Will Be Reborn was made during the global pandemic and recorded in Wainwright’s hometown of Montreal, in the basement of her brand-new cafe, Ursa which also served as a studio. She enlisted the help of Toronto musicians Thom Gill, Phil Melanson, Morgan Moore and Josh Cole to perform in her band, and producer Pierre Marchand, best-known for his collaborations with Sarah McLachlan producing some of her iconic 90s songs. Marchand also has a familial connection to Wainwright, having produced her brother Rufus’s second album poses as well as Wainwright’s mother and aunt’s record, Heartbeats Accelerating. It was a record made after some time, much like Wainwright’s gap since 2016’s Goodnight City, and McGarrigle was the same age that Wainwright is now. It seems like a musical synergy only the late McGarrigle and Wainwright could have.
