BeatRoute Magazine AB Edition - March 2020

LEVI MANCHAK
03.20YEGAGENDA
Essential Edmonton
MARLAENA MOORE
CONFRONTS HER
IMPOSTER SYNDROME
HEAD-ON
Imposter syndrome isn’t just a
buzzword for being uncomfortable in
a particular job or role, or even your
own skin. Edmonton-based singer-songwriter,
Marlaena Moore, has
recently contended with that slippery
intellectual slope and talks about
her struggles to embracing personal
confidence despite having numerous
accolades and two solid LPs,
Beginner (2014) and Gaze (2016), to
her credit.
“The past year has been marvelous.
Everything got completely
flipped upside-down in my life for the
best possible outcome. After Gaze
was released, and after I toured that
record, I fell into a little bit of a slump
creatively and life-wise, as well. I felt a
little stuck,” says Moore. ”Eventually,
I realized I was having some mental
health issues. After getting diagnosed
with BPD, dealing with it and confronting
myself a little bit, I realized I
needed to start writing again.”
Setting aside time in the early
morning hours to practice her craft,
Moore connected with her creative
spirit and rekindled her passion for
weaving poetic pop-rock tales that
leave an indelible impression on all
who encounter them. It wasn’t long
before the potent emotions she had
been fermenting were ready to distill
for public consumption and Moore
approached trusted collaborators
grant-writer/manager Jesse Northey
and musician/engineer Chris Dadge
for guidance in making her vision a
reality.
“I said, ‘This might sound kinda
wild, but I’d really like Chad Van-
Gaalen to produce the record.’ It took
a little bit of convincing but we managed
to get him into the studio and he
was very generous with his space and
his time. He was really involved as a
producer, so I felt really lucky to get
to borrow his brain for my songs!”
As Moore puts it, the resulting
album, Pay Attention, Be Amazed,
“flourished,” displaying her ever-evolving
style as a guitar-wielding
romance novelist and autobiographical
graffiti artist rolled into one. It’s
hard to imagine there’s any deception
or shortcomings to be had among
the immaculate melodies, swooning
vocals and deeply cut love letters she
inhabits in the nine painterly tracks
that stretch from “I Miss You” to
“Tiger Water.”
“If you listen to the whole record
you’ll hear the voice of someone
who feels they’re really lacking in a
relationship, like they are the ones
not pulling their weight. The song,
‘Imposter,’ is about feeling as if
people don’t really know the true
you is the dark version and that’s the
only version that is real. That song
is an imposter itself: it has jangly
guitars and an upbeat tempo, and
it’s really fun and has this bright L.A.
pop-groove sound, but it’s about a
relationship completely falling apart,”
Moore says.
“The thing that kept coming up
with Pay Attention, Be Amazed is
that, something could be coming and
it might not look like you expect it
to. Be present and pay attention to
what’s going on around you. In those
moments, you can feel this clear, lucid
high where you see everything for
what it is. It’s beautiful and interesting
and you can start pulling things
apart and looking underneath. Look
close enough to see the signs. Maybe
everything is not as it seems when
you’re going through darker times.”
Marlaena Moore will release Pay Attention,
Be Amazed on March 21 at the
Palomino Smokehouse (Calgary) and
on March 27 at 9910 (Edmonton).
by Christine Leonard
TOP 5 SHOWS OF
THE MONTH
Brought to you by High Horse Coffee Co.
HUMANS
Friday, Mar. 6 at 99ten
Vancouver’s electro-pop duo, HUMANS, have driven
crowds crazy with infectious dance floor hooks
since 2009. They will do it one last time then the
party’s over as this is their farewell tour.
RALPH
Saturday, Mar. 13 at Starlite Room
Graced with a sultry synth-pop style that bounces
to the 80s and back, Ralph is sweeping the country
with “Superbloom,” her breezy new single that
glistens like Californian rays of golden sun.
BROKEN YOLKS
Thursday, Mar. 19 at The Buckingham
Bust out the beer, high-energy skate-punks, Broken
Yolks, are going to ride that melodic wave like it’s
1999.
BLACK BELT EAGLE SCOUT
Friday, Mar. 27 at The Rec Room South Edmonton
A product of the Pacific Northwest’s rich indie
landscape, Black Belt Eagle Scout’s sophomore
offering, At The Party With My Brown Friends,
continues to travel down a lush, but fearless foray
into the modern world.
HOTEL MIRA
Sunday. Mar. 29 at the Starlite Room
Garage-dance beauties, Hotel Mira, turn up the heat
with a new release, Perfectionism, full of pumped-up,
chaotic, heartthrob pleasures that eagerly embrace all
things frantic and romantic.
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