On the first Clever Hopes album, singer-songwriter Andrew Shaver walked listeners through a tumultuous break-up and how he navigated that period of his life.
Shaver's sophomore release, New Kind of Familiar, sees the Dartmouth-based folk rocker delving further into his own life and how far he’s come since 2022’s Artefact. He has a wife, a child, and has left his home of Toronto to set up shop in Dartmouth.
“When I was writing the songs for this album, I was writing not about transitioning out of that first relationship, or that first experience, but it was more about transitioning into a new thing,” explains Shaver in an interview with The Coast.
That’s not to say the new Clever Hopes album is a joyful embrace of Shaver’s newfound life—rather, New Kind of Familiar delves into the concept of experiences and memories, ripping off the rose-tinted glasses to instead take an introspective look at what has shaped him since his last musical outing, and ultimately, what continues to shape him as he moves forward.
“The idea of New Kind of Familiar is just about cycles of repetition, and it’s about breaking, taking in, learning something from one experience of whatever it is holding onto the resonance, the emotional resonance of where you’ve been so that you can feel that in the new thing and try to avoid it,” says Shaver.
Memories and experiences
This is apparent from the first track on the album, “The Only One”, where Shaver is joined by actress and vocalist Eva Foote as they swing back and forth, touching on the idea of leaving one experience behind in your memory for another, with both singers coming together in a soothing harmony with the line, “You’re the only one I want to know.”
“The song is really about encapsulating memory, and looking forward in a kind of like, living in the dream of the creation of something…the inherent contradiction of living in the dream of something, moving forward, while feeling this sort of memory of the thing that has come before, and it’s dissipating but will never really go away.”
The theme of experiences, both old and new, is found throughout the album. The plucky, horn-filled track “Thrown it Open” sees Shaver embrace his new love with open arms. The darker and drearier “Holes” sees Shaver pairing his deep vocals with lyrics of unrest in his relationship.
“Blue Parachutes” sees Shaver get it together, once again reflecting on his trip to Australia after the breakup he based his first record on. Lyrics near the end of the song inform the speaker’s current circumstance: “I know that I won’t regret this, but I’m gonna try/ Yeah, I’m gonna try/ It’s just all so familiar.”
The title track brings Shaver’s reflection back to the present as he appreciates the new love he’s found, which carries over in the upbeat future planning of “Run it Out”. Yet, Shaver’s reflections don’t stop for a second—the penultimate track, “Clyde Barrow,” looks back on a trek across Toronto to see his love during the pandemic, with the song sounding like a theme for the eponymous outlaw.
The song happens to be a tribute to Shaver’s friend, actor Brian Dennehy, who passed away in 2020, who described his long career in one of his final texts to Shaver as a “whore’s racket.”
“A song in which someone is basically looking back on their life and saying goodbye… it felt like the right tone,” said Shaver, adding the song is a transition from one experience to whatever may come next.
While the ending may leave some listeners guessing, for Shaver, it was obvious what he had to do for his finale.
“I’ve been in theatre for 25 years, and the ending is at once the hardest thing, but also the most exciting part of any show,” he said. “I [thought] about the ending before we [began], and it was really clear to me that “Whore’s Racket” is a long, low fade out to black on this album.”
Lush guitars and brass
Behind all of the thematic theatrics of the album is the beautifully distinct instrumentation. On top of the back-and-forths and harmonizing between Shaver and Foote on the opener and “Holes” is the lushly layered guitar work of Joe Grass and Afie Jurvanen. Producer and drummer Joshua Van Tassel plays a mix of relaxed and steady beats throughout the album as Halifax-based musician Kyle Cunjak carries the rhythm on bass. Matthew Barber produced, mixed, and provided additional vocals.
Shaver recalls the recording and production stages fondly.
“It was like a dream come true, man,” he said of all the acts he managed to get together for this album. “It was so exciting because I just record a little acoustic guitar scratch demo on my iPhone, and send it to Matt, like, ‘Here’s the song!’ And then we go into the studio and come out with what you listen to.”
Also featured in the instrumentation are Steve O’Connor on keys, and Kev Foran, who provided a sweet bit of brass to accompany several of the songs from his studio in Dublin, Ireland.
In celebration of Shaver’s second album release, Clever Hopes will be performing at the Sanctuary Arts Centre in Dartmouth on June 22. For those planning a trip to Toronto, Shaver will also be performing there on July 16 at the Cameron House.
Shaver also hosts his own radio show and podcast titled When We Wake, where he interviews and talks shop with fellow musicians.
