Ever wonder what it would sound like if a couple of star-crossed teens accidentally ended up crossing the stars? What about if they subsequently found bliss in the situation? Or if their friends and families wondered if they’ll come back or, better yet, find a healthier planet to live on?
Princeton, British Columbia native Pat LePoidevin will answer all your questions early next month. Captain Myles & The SPR tells the story of Myles and Lucy, two teenagers living in the future, who build a spaceship and find themselves hurtling through space.
For his fifth studio album, the Nova Scotia-based musician will be releasing Captain Myles & The SPR as a CD, and each live performance will be accompanied by an arcade game based on the same story at the merch table. Players can find themselves exploring the rocketship built by Myles and Lucy, searching for clues that will piece together the story of their adventures. A web story will also be available.
Being a concept album that tells such a story, listeners can look forward to picking out all the references to the other songs in many of the tracks, and subsequently piece together this story of rediscovery and relationships in a technologically-dominated future.
Many of us are familiar with picking out a new theme or hidden reference every time we re-watch a movie. Listening to Captain Myles more than once is the auditory equivalent of rewatching films. Every time I replayed a song, every time I paid closer attention to a lyric, I always finished the song with new dots to connect—from the characters who speak, to the story’s multiple settings, to the references made, to different tracks in the album. I personally had a lot of fun putting all the pieces together.
LePoidevin’s soft voice serves as an excellent mouthpiece for such a journey, whether he has Myles reminisce about his childhood memories with Lucy, the Earthbound folk innocently hope that a new home planet is found, or the cast of characters reflect on the ever-present themes of wonder, discovery, and relationships. LePoidevin’s gentle vocals carry us through the album just as the spaceship carries Myles and Lucy through the stars. Elsewhere, the artist’s sonorous guitar does the heavy lifting musically, as its vibrant sound is enough to fill up all the background sound with just a drumset to help keep tempo. The guitar is no stranger to being played dynamically, either, as LePoidevin plucks a happy, uptempo melody in “Cha Cha,” following a gentler, lovesong-esque tune in “Lucy.”
“Captain Myles & The SPR is an album that I wrote from a love of outer space and exploration of the unknown. Inspiration also came from my day job, teaching English to middle school students,” LePoidevin said. “I like to refer to this project as almost similar to a YA novel, exploring themes such as relationships, isolation, and homecoming.”
“I am hoping folks join us in uncovering more of the mysteries behind Captain Myles this summer as we head off on a tour of Eastern and Atlantic Canada.”
Tour Dates:
06.21.18 – Schoolhouse Brewery – Windsor, NS
06.22.18 – Governors’ Pub, Sydney NS
06.23.18 – Buddha Bear Cafe/Holy Whale Brewery, Alma NB
06.24.18 – Baba’s Lounge, Charlottetown PEI
06.29.18 – Broad Cove Hall, South Shore
06.30.18 – The Seahorse, Halifax NS
07.05.18 – The Commune, New Glasgow NS
07.06.18 – The Capital Complex, Fredericton NB
07.06-09.18 – Evolve Festival, Beersville NB
07.07.18 – The Red Herring, St. Andrews NB
07.09.18 – Radio Bean, Burlington VT
07.10.18 – Phog Lounge, Windsor ON
07.11.18 – The Garnet, Peterborough, ON
07.12.18 – Australian Boot Co. In-Store Show, Toronto ON
07.12.18 – The Cameron House (Back Room), Toronto ON
07.13.18 – The Blacksheep Inn, Wakefield QC
07.14.18 – Brasserie Beaubien, Montreal QC
07.20.18 – Union Street Cafe, Berwick NS
08.04-06.18 – SappyFest, Sackville NB