Ever since 2019 when my brother Jon and I branched out into different types of music (because of this still-on-hiatus-but-still-ongoing blog series about influential artists); I’ve been always on the lookout for new music. The ongoing blog series has pushed me out of my comfort zone musically; but more than that, it’s made me realise that I’m really limiting what kind of music speaks to my soul and my spirit if I just listen to CCM. Fast forward to 2024, and these days, I listen to all kinds of music (aside from the metal genre, and most mainstream rap!), and I have many playlists on Spotify- some curated by Spotify and some created by myself. Anyway, it was through one of these playlists that I found out about rising Canadian country sibling duo The Reklaws. With Canada already having a strong country presence (Mackenzie Porter, Jess Moskaluke, Lindsay Ell, High Valley, Time & The Glory Boys, Tenille Townes, Tenille Arts), the stage was set and the standard was high for The Reklaws. Despite having already released 3 albums, it wasn’t until their stint on America’s Got Talent last year, that I sat up and noticed their stuff. And while some Canadians and Americans love to party on their country music, The Reklaws have sobering and reflective music too, as well as an odd party song. These guys, comprising of siblings Stuart and Jenna, aren’t famous. But they are well established, and their latest EP’s One Beer Away and Outliving are two of the most heartbreaking yet hard-hitting and inspiring EP’s I’ve ever heard in recent memory.
“One Beer Away” is a party-esque guitar led song about staying close to your friends and always being there for them. It seems like a ‘raise your glasses and party’ type of song, but the reality is that sometimes we need to talk to that friend that can give you sage advice and can inspire you to take on the world again. This song tries to inspire us to find the joy in living again (‘…from that taste of freedom on a Friday night to letting go and falling into the time of your life, if you asked God and he answered with a neon sign, let’s raise some hell for heaven’s sake, ’cause I’m only one beer away, singing along to songs you don’t even know, to lifting up that Dixie cup full of something that’s cold, from your worst day to your best night, got a heavy heart? Here’s a Busch Light, you name the time and place, I’m only one beer away…’) and encourages us to let our hair down and feel alive again after a traumatic event or a break up. Piano ballad “If I Drink Enough” is led by Jenna, and speaks about the crazy decisions we all might do when we’re not thinking straight and a little bit influenced by the bottle, and guitar led track “All The Time” speaks about moments missed and Sliding Doors’ moments as Stuart sings about regrets and do-overs; yet it is the 4 songs from the latest EP that really speak to my soul.
The songs on Outliving aren’t your usual ‘country’ songs. They’re your songs about life, about the moments that count, they’re songs about the people you care about and love. And I have realised through listening to these heartfelt melodies and tracks that we all don’t know what is going to happen in the future. We might die tomorrow. Or someone close to us might. Whatever the case, let this profound revelation spur us onto living, and not cripple us. Not knowing the future is a gift, and can be the catalyst of living life to the fullest. Spending time with people is key and paramount- no amount of stuff can replace the joy your feel from the good memories you share with people. And so, yeah I can write reviews and write about albums I love or artists I love. Yeah I can do that. And yes I probably will. But after listening to this collection of life changing songs- I think I’ll write and review at a lesser intensity. And so should all of you slow down and smell the roses in life. Life is meant to be spent with family and friends and pets and other people you value. What good is a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul. And so, as I end this review, let me challenge you all to have a day of chatting to your friends and family just because. Have a phone free day or go on day trips. Take that holiday because you never know what is coming next. Do something daring and crazy. We only got one life. So live it well. Thank you to Stuart and Jenna for allowing us all to realise it before it’s too late. And let’s love without condition and bask in God’s creation too!