Out now, is Shepherd,the latest studio album by 2024 International Blues Artist of the Year, Canadian roots, rock, and soul band Bywater Call, as is their latest singular release, the ballad ‘Colours’.
‘Colours’ tells the story of a lover desperately holding onto an ending relationship. It’s about coming to terms with the inevitable feeling of loss and heartbreak, while remembering the path that brought them to their current state. In solitude, mind racing, she thinks over loss, how such a love consumed her life, and begins bargaining with her unrequited love; “Leave me a liar as long as the truth sets you free, keep me chained in your prison, as long as it holds you to me.”
“The song mixes lush and spacey ambience, alongside explosive hits, as our protagonist wrestles with her inner turmoil” reflected Bywater Call’s guitarist, Dave Barnes.
You can check out the music video for ‘Colours’ here at RAMzine. It was filmed as a single shot in the slow-motion style of Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’ by Zack Murray of Lightning House Media, reflecting the dreamy raw emotion of the song.
Shepherd is Bywater Call’s first fully self-produced and self-recorded album, and self-released with the help of Continental Record Services in Europe. The album featured ten original songs, showcasing the bands continual exploration, experimentation, and reach beyond the boundaries of their genre, further developing their own unique voice. The new music shows their growth, while still paying tribute to their historical and contemporary influences.
Said to be packed with ripping rock tunes, quirky off-beat numbers, and beautiful ballads, the upcoming album Shepherd is “exuberant, rootsy, funky, joyful, and heartbreaking all at once”. At its core, this album is intended to celebrate, and reflect the human experience with all its highs and lows: love, passion, regret, patience, resilience, reconciliation, anger, hardship.
Often transcending genres, Bywater Call is known for their dynamic, emotional live shows, featuring powerful vocals and exciting interplay between all band members. They have toured extensively in Europe where shows have been praised by Dutch, German and UK media, with references to Meghan as one of the best female voices in blues and roots today. They are currently nominated for International Blues Artist of the year for the UK Blues Awards.
Last month, the band released ‘Everybody Knows’, their fourth single of the year taken from album Shepherd.
Opening with an infectious guitar riff and a burst of horns, where you might imagine a cross between the swagger of The Black Crowes and The Rolling Stones alongside the soul of Aretha Franklin. ‘Everybody Knows’ has already been described as a “Southern rock banger” with “a fierce female vocal”.
“Told in three vignettes, connected by the chorus of ‘everybody knows the bed they sleep in’, this song is about how you can tell yourself whatever you want to hear, whatever makes you feel better,” said Bywater Call’s guitarist, Dave Barnes, “But ultimately, the truth is always waiting for you at the end of the day.”
You can stream the single here and check out the new video here at RAMzine.
That single followed previous release, As If’, a number driven by Mike Meusel on bass and Bruce McCarthy on drums, ‘As If’ is an upbeat funk, rock n’ soul inspired number featuring soaring, emotion-filled vocals and ripping guitar, all coloured in with a keyboard and horns groove. Its energy has already made it an immediate hit with live audiences.
“This song embodies the awareness, anger, acceptance and breaking free from toxic energy in one’s life” said lead singer Meghan Parnell, who drew inspiration from former relationships. You can stream the single here and check out the video here at RAMzine.
‘As If’ was partially filmed and recorded at friend, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Howley’s beautiful barn studio in the country of Ontario, Canada where he acted as engineer. Bass (Mike Meusel), drums (Bruce McCarthy), horns (Julian Nalli, sax and Stephen Dyte, trumpet) and keys (John Kervin) were captured live-off-the-floor. Additional recording, including lead vocals (Meghan Parnell) and Guitars (Dave Barnes), was captured by Bywater drummer Bruce McCarthy (The Beat Farm in Toronto), who also acted as mixing engineer.
‘As If’ itself follows on from previous single ‘Roll’, that was described as “an uplifting and quirky retro-soul number”. You can stream ‘Roll’ here and also check out the video here at RAMzine.
‘Roll’ was recorded and mixed by drummer Bruce McCarthy at his studio The Beat Farm in Toronto. “This song, through the stories of three ordinary people, speaks to the curve balls thrown at us all in the game of life,” said singer, Megan Parnell. “The lesson: you have to hold your head up and just keep moving forward.”
Featuring a signature bass line played by Mike Meusel and conceived by keyboard player John Kervin, who throws in his own tasteful organ lick, the original inspiration for ‘Roll’ was an old James Carr R & B tune, ‘The Dark End of the Street’. The song, however, quickly took on a life of its own.
Throw in the classic soul of Otis Redding, the American rootsiness of The Wood Brothers, a little humour and quirk, mainly supplied by McCarthy’s percussion, some twangy resonator and fiery slide guitar from Dave Barnes, sultry vocals from Parnell, and then top it all off with the unforgettable horn section of Julian Nalli (sax) and Stephen Dyte (trumpet) and a gospel-inspired build that will have us all celebrating our resilience; out comes ‘Roll’.
It followed the early March release of ‘Holler’ that saw extensive A-list radio play on UK’s Planet Rock Radio, and the 2023 releases of singles ‘Sweet Maria’ and ‘For All We Know’, that received rave reviews from UK, Europe, and North America. All three tunes are included on the new album.
The band has been busy. In 2023 alone, they played a total of 96 shows in ten countries, 89 cities, 19 US states and 3 Canadian provinces, including Joe Bonamassa’s third Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea Mediterranean Cruise.
New album Shepherd is available to order from Bywater Call’s website, and tour information can be found here.
