Nick Earle knows how to roll with the punches. Since we first caught him as a one-half of the award-winning blues duo Earle & Coffin, he’s undergone a few reinventions, most recently with his band The Reckless Hearts (Daniel George, Clare Follett). After an intense year of gigging on their local bar circuit in St. John’s, they’ve shifted their sound once again—from blue rock to the high gloss polish of their very radio-friendly new single, “Queen of the Night.”
The Summer of 2020 was a tough one for the music industry, but Newfoundland & Labrador was fortunately spared the worst of it. Although stranded in his home province, loosened restrictions meant that Earle was a local hot commodity as a live performer. The new grind quickly taught Earle to cater to his new audiences.
“I started to slowly immerse myself back into the infamous George Street scene here in St. John’s which quickly turned into anywhere between five to nine four-hour slots a week,” says Earle. “In cycling between original and borrowed material playing so much, I started to get a different feel of what people enjoyed and what was expected of me when I showed up to perform.
“I’ve now moved into a range which I believe is more accessible to listeners by taking a poppier approach to creating music but delivering it in a similar sonic manner. Real people playing real instruments.
“Every artist that has stuck around the game long enough has evolved and changed their sound. I don’t see change as a bad thing, and if it’s something that makes your music become more commercially accessible, I don’t see it as being negative at all.”
That same summer, Earle began working with producer Robert Kelly, giving him an opportunity to immediately begin tracking the new material; “Queen of the Night” being the first we’ve heard of it— unless you happened to be in a George Street bar.
“Being thrown into a hometown nightlife gig, playing about 70 songs a night, and doing that about 200 times in the last year has not only done so much in regards to my vocal endurance and tone but has evolved what I create and what I enjoy playing. I’m not just feeding off the crowd that has been used to me playing blues, and blues/rock, etc. I’m now feeding off what seems to be the whole downtown community of a city, wherein any venue you go there’s live music playing, someone getting on a little too foolish. The life of the party, the ‘Queen of the Night’,” laughs Earle.
Earle says the unique circumstances have allowed to him “road test” certain songs before they ever have a chance to make it outside of the Atlantic Bubble. He’s optimistic about the reaction they’re going to get, especially considering how well they’ve done at home.
“Queen of the Night” brings that full circle, with Earle’s new song singing the praises of St. John’s densely populated George Street bar scene, its nightlife, and that special someone who’s always on the dance floor (or table, or bar, or speaker) who is giving it all they’ve got.
“It’s about that someone that catches the attention of the entire room and how you want to be where they are. They’re where the fun is, captivating whoever is around whether it’s cause they’re wild or funny, or dancing,” says Earle.
The track will appear on Earle’s upcoming full-length album which, like “Queen of the Night,” is an intentional shift away from past sounds that Earle says plans to stick with for a while.
“I wanted it to relate to more than those who already know me for my work as Earle & Coffin or previous solo endeavours, and even the last Reckless Hearts record,” says Earle.
Earle says the album can be expected sometime in the Summer of 2022.