Kathryn Calder is one of those artists who belies her age. She began her professional music career as a teenager, and by the time that most people are just stepping into their first independent record store, she had recorded 2 EPS and 4 CDs with the Victoria based Immaculate Machine (from whom she parted ways in 2008), and toured the world and recorded three albums as the newest member of The New Pornographers.
Recorded at her mother’s house in Victoria BC, ‘Are You My Mother?’ is one of 2011’s most innovative releases. It is a deeply personal record that was largely born through two years of Kathryn caring for her terminally ill mother. Yet the songs on “Are you my mother?’ are universal in their tone because the record relates to so many facets of all our lives. This is NOT a eulogy. Rather, it is a statement that life is a mixed bag, and that without losing things you would never know to cherish them. Yes there are songs of loss on ‘Are you my mother?’, yet there are also songs of love, friendship, and whimsy. It is a beguiling album, that - because of the wisdom and experience communicated by her voice - gives the illusion of being written by someone in the twilight of their years, while at the same time it expresses the excitement and wonder of a young woman who is just finding her own voice.
‘Are You My Mother,’ is one of the most exciting and honest debut records of 2011. You will hear a moment in time and all of the feelings that were contained in it. Kathryn Calder will be playing the End of the Road Festival on Sunday 4 September at the Tipi Tent Stage.
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