The title of Moira Bren’s newest single, “Just Cars”, is a bold one. It evokes high-minded possibilities like a folked-up version of Arcade Fire’s “No Cars Go”, an ideological successor to Gary Numan’s greatest hit, a roadside ambiance track, or perhaps even a lyrical interpretation of the Pixar film.
For the best and true to Moira Bren’s folk-pop sensibilities, we’ve instead been gifted this heartfelt and reflective tune about how life, even when displaced, can still hold meaning. It just seems a bit hollow at times…
Just before beginning high school, Moira was subjected to the makings of many coming of age films and the backbone of too many sitcom characters: she moved.
That sort of upheaval is the stuff of nightmares; the chip on the shoulder of half the bad eggs on television, and the Achilles heel to the rest. The idea of hauling yourself across the country during your most formative years to be dropped into a new situation without any social network is daunting, but great material for a song.
Moira Bren explains that in the song she reflects on her connection with the community she left and the disconnect with her new surroundings.
“I wrote this song after moving across Canada from Alberta to Nova Scotia,” explains Moira Bren. “Back in my hometown, I lived by a highway and I would constantly hear cars driving by. I often wondered what people in my community were in those cars: ‘Maybe that’s Johnny going to his uncle’s house’ or ‘Leah on her way to travel the world’. But after moving to this new place where I knew no one, the cars driving by seemed so empty with no personal connection – they were ‘Just Cars.’”
“Just Cars” is the third single off of Moira Bren’s upcoming debut EP 6 Is Green, which is expected to be released via Ticklegrass Records later this summer.