Some things are worth the wait, and if Cape Breton’s The Tom Fun Orchestra required the last nine years to percolate their first recording of original music in all the time, then that’s exactly how long it took. It all seems to be worth it when hearing the results on “I’m Your Man.”
After the release of You Will Land With a Thud (2008) and Earthworm Heart (2012), both of which were high acclaimed and launched the band into years of the world, something eventually let the wind out of their sails. The Tom Fun Orchestra went into a state of semi-retirement on their native Cape Breton Island, only to emerge occasionally like some seasonally indifferent, though musically-inclined groundhog to perform for the locals.
Despite the increasingly elusive state of the Tom Fun Orchestra, the band never saw themselves as anything less than a band.
“There were a variety of factors that led to the end of our touring days,” says frontman Ian MacDougall, “but we never stopped thinking of ourselves as a band. I’m pretty sure we’ll always think of ourselves as a band. We still get together and play when we can, and we continue to write new music. We figured it was time to share some of that with anyone out there who might care to listen, so here we are, putting out a new song. It’s been a while.”
MacDougall explains that “I’m Your Man” is a love letter of sorts, wrapped in the tale of husband and wife on the day he goes out to sea, never to return. That being said, aside from the song’s tragic nature and the great gruff energy of MacDougall’s voice, this doesn’t feel like any shanty I’ve ever heard and it’s certainly more indie romance than ballad.
It’s a beautiful return for the Tom Fun Orchestra, though the band remains mysteriously noncommital as to whether this is a sign of more to come or, like their shows, just an occasional treat.