Video Premiere: Kenton Loewen - Toeing the Line
We are excited today to host the exclusive premiere for “Toeing the Line”, the debut release from West coast behind-the-scenes legend Kenton Loewen. He’s best known as one of Canada’s premier improvising drummers; you’ve likely heard his work with Dan Mangan + Blacksmith, Gord Grdina, or, if you were hanging out in Vancouver at the right time, you may have also seen him play with Mother Mother (he was the band’s original drummer). “Toeing the Line” is a collaboration with longtime friend and producer Jesse Zubot, and sees Loewen diving head first into singer-songwriter territory.
The track is wonderfully atmospheric, with a sort of cavernous, dirge-like quality to the proceedings. The song becomes a game of contrasts between the rock steady and spacious rhythm tracks, Loewen’s mournful crooning vocal, and some extremely carefully deployed ear candy, be it washes of noise, synthesizer swells, or effects pedal fun. All together, it makes for an extremely compelling listen, such that by the time guest soloist Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, John Zorn) takes center stage, things really take off. Ribot’s solo is predicatably fantastic, but the way that Loewen and Zubot and constructed the landscape around it deserves equal praise. It can feel at times like bits of noise and guitar squawks are self-assembling into melody and harmony in support of either the lead vocal or lead guitar, and those moments are genuinely magical when they happen.
“Toeing the Line” hits wider release tomorrow, March 15th, and for now, the music video (directed by Ehren Salazar) is available exclusively to watch via Cups N Cakes. The song is part of a full length release from Loewen that is coming later this year.