{"id":37847,"date":"2020-11-17T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/?p=37847"},"modified":"2020-12-01T17:10:38","modified_gmt":"2020-12-01T22:10:38","slug":"playing-toronto-falcon-jane-faith-lp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/playing-toronto-falcon-jane-faith-lp\/","title":{"rendered":"Falcon Jane Keeps the Faith on Sophomore LP"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo Credit: Brendan George Ko<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Graced with a strangely stunning voice\u2014youthful and emotive, gloomy and perceptive\u2014Falcon Jane (singer-songwriter Sara May) has just released a sophomore album, Faith<\/em>, the follow-up to 2018’s Feelin’ Freaky<\/em>, via Pittsburgh-based label Darling Recordings<\/a>. On it, cathartic verses ascend to soaring heights as the Ontario-based artist ponders existential questions about life, death, and what lies beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The emotional depth on Faith<\/em> is hard won. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, May found herself attending a funeral nearly every two months\u2014the songwriter lost both her grandmothers, an uncle, and great uncle within a year. \u201cGoing to a lot of funerals really makes you think about the afterlife, so it was something that was on my mind a lot when I was making this album,” May explains. “I still have no idea what the afterlife holds, or if there is one at all, but part of my journey of relearning to have faith was believing in an afterlife again. I kept having vivid dreams of people who had passed; my family members, and people I didn\u2019t even know very well. It felt like they were trying to tell me something. I don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like on the other side, but I definitely feel like my family who has passed is still with me in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These losses set her on the inevitable path that the world, in one way or another, has been facing since the pandemic began. \u201cIt\u2019s been a hard year for pretty much everyone, me included,” she admits. “I\u2019ve been feeling a lot of anxiety this year, and I\u2019ve had to find new coping mechanisms now that my usual ones\u2014playing shows, getting together with friends, travelling\u2014are few and far between. I\u2019m staying hopeful though. I\u2019ve learned a lot about myself this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s evident in both the sonic palette an lyrical themes throughout Faith<\/em>, as May explores the transitory nature of life and relationships, as well as the natural cycle of grief\u2014shock, disbelief, sorrow, and ultimate acceptance. The result is an album that is as cathartic as it is hopeful, even joyous at times (“Beautiful Dream”). Tracks like the dazzling \u201cAll of a Sudden\u201d are balanced with themes of sadness, regrets and lingering questions that can no longer be answered. Somber and magical, \u201cThe Other Moon\u201d evokes the solitude of mourning\u2014while loss is felt by many, everyone must navigate those feelings in their own way. Throughout, Falcon Jane\u2019s courage to tell her story\u2014particularly on \u201cHad Enough\u201d\u2014is spellbinding in its plaintive boldness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n