By Jim Barber
There has all the time been a deep wellspring of authenticity, actuality and strikingly sincere self-exposition within the songs of critically lauded and profoundly gifted Canadian singer/songwriter Suzie Ungerleider.
Working underneath her earlier nom de plume, Oh Susanna, from her earliest days within the late Nineteen Nineties crafted a status for compelling songcraft and exceptionally evocative, emotional stay live performance experiences due to the darkish sweetness of her voice and the relatable, revelatory nature of her music.
After shedding the pores and skin of her former model, Ungerleider launched the critically-acclaimed album with the title My Identify is Suzie Ungerleider – an announcement of intent that has opened her creativity as much as limitless potentialities as an artist, and as a human.
Her new album, Among the many Evergreens, sees Ungerleider stripping again any sense of pretense, as an alternative opening up fairly intimate features her personal story in a fashion that’s as autobiographically correct as it’s startlingly relatable.
As with many songwriters, there isn’t essentially a cut-off date the place Ungerleider decides, ‘okay, now I’m going to write down a brand new album.’ As a substitute there’s a constant artistic course of that ultimately results in what may be described as a tipping level, when she realizes there may be sufficient new materials to maneuver right into a extra deliberate album making course of.
“As quickly because the earlier report is completed I’m like, ‘okay, I’ve acquired to begin once more.’ However that doesn’t imply I do it. I imply, it’s not a concerted effort. It’s extra like chipping away, mainly. Like my final report, I made a decision by no means to attend till the entire report is written. I made a decision, okay I’ve acquired a couple of songs, I’m going to report them and see how they really feel. That motivates me to do extra as a result of it then turns into a extremely enjoyable course of. Doing it the opposite method, ready till they’re all achieved is form of daunting. In order that’s how I did this one, and I wasn’t even conscious of the connective tissue between the songs,” she defined.
“In actual fact, like the way in which the report is organized into that ‘then and now,’ cut up over two sides and even the subjects of the songs, I wasn’t actually considering I used to be going to write down concerning the issues that I did. It simply occurs. Or in some instances I believed, ‘nicely, right here’s an thought. However I don’t know if I ought to write about this.’ A number of the different stuff is not any huge deal. It was only a sample that I noticed after I ready the songs and I might sequence the report in form of a story vogue. And it was actually enjoyable and thrilling to see that each one play out and find yourself being the way it did.”
The album’s title, Among the many Evergreens, is in reference … and fairly probably reverence – for nature and the way Ungerleider attracts inspiration from strolling via the tall timber within the Vancouver space. She sees her life, and the assemble of the album, resembling timber in that there’s a stable circularity to them within the rings of timber, however that these rings, as they construct on prime of each other, additionally signify years lived – with every ring being impacted by the general well being of the tree. A season of wither and drought results in slim rings, whereas years of abundance and well being result in wider rings.
“I write in my head as I’m strolling. Not a lot from scratch, however I could have an concept that I’ve been engaged on after which I’ll exit for a stroll, as a result of I’ve a canine, so I gotta go for a stroll. And I’m fortunate as a result of I stay close to the Trans Canada Path so I’ll go there rather a lot and I could also be mulling over lyrics. I keep in mind for the track ‘The Wilds’ I used to be attempting to type out the lyrics whereas I used to be strolling alongside the seashore at some point,” she stated.
“That was a part of the draw of shifting again right here was to be in nature. I began to really feel like that was increasingly more vital to me, whereas once I was youthful though I had all this water close by and it was regular to have all this nature round, it appeared boring, so I made a decision to go the large city place [Toronto] however then I began lacking doing walks in nature, so I moved again right here. Being right here since 2019, I’m beginning to notice that being in nature will get me right into a form of trance. And for me, that’s actually vital in writing, being in a form of reverie. And it’s a lot simpler to get into reveries in a hypnotic state if I’m round nature, particularly if I’m shifting in nature.
“Possibly it sounds cliché, however issues change, or they’ve cycles. I may be in the course of one thing and it feels utterly disastrous, however then one thing else will occur and it will get resolved, or it can transfer into one other place of pleasure and light-weight, or that softness is okay. Nature jogs my memory of that.”
Ungerleider’s music has all the time been deeply private, enchantingly lyrical, open, sincere and eminently accessible. For her, it’s additionally been powerfully cathartic expertise – much more so since dropping her earlier creative moniker and going together with her personal title professionally.
“I believe it’s refreshing. There’s all the time instances whenever you would possibly get right into a artistic wrestle, like a track not working within the studio, or one thing occurs and also you’re filled with doubt and it’s emotional. However most of that’s balanced out by the excessive of making one thing and placing it on the market. I keep in mind what a pal of mine as soon as stated to me that the method of writing, even if you happen to’re not doing confessional kind music, it’s simply very cathartic to be arising with one thing new and authentic,” she defined.
“And you already know, I’ve plenty of doubt the place I’m like, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ve to begin once more. I don’t know tips on how to write a track any extra. How am I going to write down a track that I like once more?’ However then there’s the precise feeling of accomplishment – ‘I did it’ – which is form of wonderful. And I get enthusiastic about it and it appears like the whole lot is stuffed with potential. Though there may be that second after whenever you notice, ‘oh, I’ve acquired to do it once more.’ Simply whenever you’re feeling nice about what you’ve achieved, ‘I did these items and it’s great, however I assume I’ve acquired to do it once more.’
“And the understanding that I’ve to do one thing once more that’s going to imply one thing to me and I’m going to love it or really feel happy with it or that another person goes to love it. And at instances that may be an enormous block for me. So I attempt to put these emotions apart and simply deal with the thought and simply belief myself and belief within the tales I’m all the time occupied with. I’m all the time occupied with tales; it’s a pure factor for me. I don’t truly should work that tough to write down one thing, though I believe I do. I simply let go of those concepts that it’s laborious and the way I’m going to fill this clean web page and all these sorts of fears, or that I’m not working laborious sufficient and never working at my craft on a regular basis, as a result of truly, I discover that once I’m stress-free and never working, and even occupied with working, that’s when the concepts come and I get impressed. It’s these methods that I attempt to discover to make it fulfilling and invigorating, as an alternative of the burden or strain of getting to do one thing. Making a report is stuffed with potential, full of pleasure after which comes the purpose of unveiling what it’s I’ve achieved, as a result of I don’t actually know what I’ve achieved till I hear the entire thing again.”
It doesn’t get way more private than speaking about key moments in your personal life, together with songs that probe into the yin and yang of the connection between husband and spouse [Ungerleider’s husband is noted drummer Cam Giroux] or of that between a mom and her daughter [Ramona].
The division of the ten songs into ones from the previous and ones from current is an effective way for Ungerleider to deal with very particular episodes from her life, together with the fantastically evocative track ‘Juniper’ which is about being in love, after which the equally compelling ‘Mount Shasta,’ the narrative of which revolved round an argument between she and Giroux. Equally, the track ‘I’m Sorry & You’re Proper’ is riven with battle between mom and daughter and but can be so lovely in its portrayal of sincere and remorse and miscommunication and the will to wish to do higher and be higher – with out all the time figuring out how. ‘The Wilds’ comes from the admiration Ungerleider has for her daughter’s power and distinctive character and the hopes she has for her future.
“Just lately I stated to my husband, ‘I’m about to go and carry out these songs and I’m going to be on a stage speaking concerning the songs, and I don’t wish to do something that’s going to make you uncomfortable or say something that feels prefer it’s crossing a boundary.’ However he stated he trusts me. And I stated the identical factor to Ramona and he or she stated it was okay too. However I’m cautious about it. Typically it’s straightforward to say one thing for the sake of fun and typically it’s straightforward to get swept away by the impression you’re making or the narrative you’re telling. And what you’re saying might not truly be true, nevertheless it gained’t be clear to the individual on the present who doesn’t have the microphone and isn’t telling the story that it’s not true,” she stated.
“It’s a delicate challenge, and it’s going to be one thing I always should remind myself to watch out about – the truth that they’re not right here to inform their model. So these songs actually are my perspective. It’s not likely what occurred, it’s what I believe, what I perceived occurred, or what I’m speaking about or the emotional side of what occurred, from my perspective.”
‘I’m Sorry & You’re Proper,’ just about hits the feels of anybody who has had youngsters, or who has been a child. But the universality of the subject material makes it relatable sufficient to most anybody. It’s the element, the descriptiveness, the shading and colouring and textures created by the lyrical setting that makes the track an emotional dynamo. Finally these extremely private, relationship-oriented songs usually are not about proper or improper, or pure love, however concerning the gray areas, the muddied waters of life and family members, the decision of battle, – actual life, actual household stuff in all its hues.
“In fact that track began from an actual factor. Loads of it is rather actual. However I keep in mind considering, am I actually going to write down a track like this? As a result of I simply had this form of melodic thought after which the ideas, the phrases began popping out, particularly ‘I cornered you within the rest room.’ I’m like, ‘am I actually going to sing about that?’ It feels bizarre, as a result of it truly occurred, and it was a selected second,” Ungerleider stated.
“Simply studying these phrases is bizarre. It felt actually unusual at first to try this. After which I stated, nicely, it’s what’s in my head, I would like to simply belief that it’s going to work out. And that’s the opposite factor that I’ve realized; typically I’d write and I won’t truly do something with the phrases. They’re simply one thing I would like to write down, they usually might not be for public consumption. I believe that’s what I stated to myself once I was writing that track, and that helped me to be open for something.
“At factors within the track, it’s form of lighthearted sounding. But it surely wasn’t. It captures this second the place I felt like I used to be exhibiting a extremely ugly aspect of myself in that second. After which to write down it into the track, I ponder, ‘is that moral?’ Or is it that I’m simply being cute? Am I simply taking it straightforward on myself by writing a track saying, ‘I’m sorry,’ however am I truly going to be higher? It nonetheless goes via my thoughts ‘am I going to stay as much as these phrases or is that this only a humorous little anecdote?’ So, yeah, there’ve been sophisticated moments of writing and I’m always asking myself what I’m going to disclose and the way a lot am I going to say about it.”
The selection to write down, report and launch music underneath her personal title invoked a way of freedom from the restraints of the expectations of others, permitting for a extra versatile artistic course of, the place the one boundaries have been ones imposed by Ungerleider herself. A part of this got here from the truth that as time, and life and the universe, modified and advanced, Ungerleider discovered herself tapping into her personal questions and quandaries increasingly more as sources of inspiration.
“There’s been a giant shift for me from attempting to sing songs that sound like what people songs are about, which have a form of fact to them via their telling, however that are extremely fictionalized. I assume it was the Lady in Teen Metropolis report [2017] the place writing about my very own particular life actually opened the door to the place I might really feel folks actually connecting to this new specificity. Now folks speak about this on a regular basis, so it’s not an enormous thought within the better scheme of issues that one thing that’s particular to the artist turns into resonant for different folks. However I actually started to really feel it – I felt this encouragement and this emotional connection once I began singing songs that have been very a lot autobiographical and that inspired me to go additional,” she stated, including that it’s extra the depth of this self-examination is what’s actually turn into extra pronounced during the last two data.
“I’ve all the time been motivated to precise issues that I really feel strongly about after which I hope that different folks will really feel that too and join with it. It’s not all that totally different in the present day, it’s simply that what I’m revealing is extra overtly private. However I notice there are alternative ways to strategy songwriting. Not everyone seems to be writing to have this deep, private, emotional connection. They’re attempting to write down to have enjoyable and create pleasure or one thing to bop to. However I’m doing stuff to mine feelings and get nearer to feelings and so if I’m feeling emotional about what’s popping out, then that’s an excellent signal, and I ought to transfer in direction of that, even when it feels embarrassing or weak or unusual, or even when I don’t suppose it’s going to imply something to another person.”
In an age when ‘branding’ is the whole lot and linked to so many issues exterior of the particular artistic output, Ungerleider admits there was a bit trepidation earlier than selecting to emerge from the cocoon of her former title.
“I had combined emotions about it. I don’t remorse shifting. A part of the explanation why I blew it up was as a result of my music didn’t actually match the branding any extra. And in order that felt actually bizarre to maintain utilizing this title that indicated a complete slew of issues that didn’t match what I used to be occupied with or doing and the model I used to be in, or the songs I used to be writing. After which there’s the truth that it [the name was based on a well-known 19th century American song] conjures up minstrelsy and slavery and repression, that was form of the tipping level of eliminating it. So, it did really feel liberating to do away with it, but in addition scary,” she stated.
“I took me some time to get used to having my title be, like, the official artist title as a result of I’ve all the time felt, ‘what does it imply to anyone else.’ I do know what it means to me as a connection to my household and my ancestors and issues like that. However that was form of a non-public, private factor. And now it’s my public title, which feels nice, nevertheless it additionally feels a bit bit nebulous. I can’t management what folks see or suppose, which is form of the scary factor to really feel such as you’re giving up management over. And I believe that’s what I used to be doing at first, controlling how folks would body me.
“And at first it was completely right and it felt actually good, like that was the place I needed to be. After which because the framing started to really feel improper, I needed to let it go. But it surely has liberated me in that I don’t really feel constrained to make sure sorts of music. I believe I’ll proceed to make music that’s, you already know, folky and acoustic – it’s not like there’s any hazard of me making a dance report. But it surely permits me to be extra private about it, and once I’m onstage, I don’t should create a thriller persona anymore. I can simply be a model of myself once I’m on stage, which I believe additionally helps with connecting and letting me inform tales verbally, not simply via the music, in a method that I might be if I used to be conversing with a pal.”
Since her Oh Susanna days, Ungerleider has labored steadily with famous Canadian producer/songwriter Jim Bryson, with the 2 as soon as once more getting collectively to masterfully produce Among the many Evergreens.
“I assume we first began our relationship of producer and artist once I made Identify Dropper, in order that was 2012. We began to try this album, however we didn’t fairly end it or launch it for a couple of years as a result of I had breast most cancers [in 2013]. So it was 2012 once I got here up with the thought of him producing that challenge, after which we’ve achieved the previous few tasks collectively fairly persistently. But it surely’s not like I’m speaking to him on a regular basis. I’m off writing by myself after which we talk as pals, however then once I say, ‘let’s do some recording,’ it’s go time. So it’s form of natural that method,” she stated.
“We’ve been pals since 2001 or one thing like that. So we had a decade or extra of simply being pals earlier than we began working collectively. In actual fact, the thought of him producing is form of out of left discipline as a result of he wasn’t actually producing data on the time. I simply actually favored his weirdness and that he would take me in a special course than what another person would possibly. I knew he wouldn’t do the standard stuff that another producer would do. And since we all know one another so nicely, he may be fairly sincere with me and vice versa. Typically that’s a difficulty as a result of because the individual pouring their soul our within the studio, I desire a little bit of coddling or no matter, and it doesn’t all the time occur. I imply, we’re form of like siblings in that method. However general I believe it’s been good. And I belief his judgement and I additionally belief his tempo of labor. For probably the most half, we just about agree on how issues ought to go.”
After greater than 25 years within the music business, and with a robust sense of introspective function, it’s going to be an fascinating journey for followers and Ungerleider herself to see – and listen to – what comes subsequent.
“I’m nonetheless studying. I’m nonetheless studying tips on how to be human. I’m nonetheless studying tips on how to be in relationship with different people who I care about. And even with the broader world, I’m nonetheless studying. I believe I’m fortunate, too, as a result of as an artist, I’m in a world the place all of that studying and rising is allowed. I’m allowed to navel-gaze. And I notice I’m so blessed as a result of that’s one thing that only a few folks can do – it’s not a part of their work to be navel gazing, however my work encourages that,” she stated.
As for seeing and listening to her stay, plans are underway for some touring in Canada and different components of the world over the following 12 months or so.
“I’m doing a report launch present in Vancouver on June 19 and I’m attempting to get my shit collectively to return to Ontario in October, so keep tuned for that. I’ve some Alberta dates booked for March of 2026 after which I’m going again to Europe in April and Might of subsequent 12 months and perhaps the UK as nicely,” she stated.
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Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and writer primarily based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for greater than 30 years. Apart from his journalistic endeavours, he works as a communications and advertising and marketing specialist, and is an avid volunteer in his neighborhood. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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