Not all subjects are easy to talk about, and they’re certainly not any easier to put into song. The key to making great art, however, seems to be going straight at what scares you and Prince Edward Island alternative pop-folk artist Brielle Ansems has done that with emotional candour. “Hillsborough Bridge,” Ansems’ latest single cuts deep with themes of heartache and self-destruction; artfully bearing it all with a raw and touching intimacy.
“I used to imagine what it would be like, to leap off the Hillsborough Bridge,” sings Ansems in the song’s opening line, getting right to the core of the matter. This is a love song gone wrong, though, as Ansems notes, “if this love, love is not what I got from you.”
More than a year and a half since the release of her Music PEI Award-winning debut album, This New Hurricane, Ansems seems to have levelled up over the interim. “Hillsborough Bridge” is a big emotional blow that you can’t help but feel when her voice frays on the lines, “Say what you want, you could have done more to come through, Instead, I’ll use chords you taught me in writing songs to get over you,”
“Hillsborough Bridge” is more than just another song about heartache, but rather it is Ansems very seriously addressing the roots of her experience with suicidal ideation. It is very much Ansems putting herself out there with the intention of opening a dialogue among listeners, offering encouragement to have conversations where they’re needed, whether they be with their families, with professionals or with themselves.
“This song gives me hope. Because I don’t feel now how I did when I wrote it,” says Ansems. “And I didn’t feel then how I did when the trauma first happened. And putting this song out into the world now reminds me that every single day is a chance to grow, and learn, and heal. And, hopefully, it can be that reminder for someone else out there, too.”
While Ansems give a lot of credit to the recording team at The Hill Sound Studio in Charlottetown—particularly producer Adam Gallant, along with guitarist Dylan Ansems, bassist Evan McCosham, and violinist Jasmine Michel—given the difficult nature of the song, there’s also some credit due to some folks you wouldn’t normally find the liner notes.
The circumstances of the last year has given rise to several mental health programs that have emerged with the aid of the regional music industry associations. In particular, Ansems found that the East Coast’s Music Association’s Health & Wellness Program was very helpful for musicians when it came to coping with her more destructive thoughts.
“I saw the program promoted in the Music PEI newsletter about a year and a half ago. At the time, I had started seeing a counsellor here in Charlottetown after months of being on a waiting list, only for it to turn out not to be a good fit. I was discouraged, and I figured I didn’t have anything to lose by looking into other options, so I emailed the contact on the ECMA website Errin Williams and made an appointment for a phone call,” explains Ansems.
“It turned out to be a great decision; I connected with Errin really well and felt immediate relief. Because she has so much experience working with artists, she understood so much about the specific pressures I was feeling without me having to explain. And the program is flexible, too, so I don’t have to stress about trying to make it work with my unpredictable musician’s schedule.
“With preventative mental health care being so difficult to access and even harder to pay for, having a program like this available to artists is hugely impactful. It’s totally changed how I’m able to manage my wellness.”
For musicians who are experiencing any concerns regarding their own mental wellness, resources are available online via the East Coast Music Association’s Mental Health & Well Program or you can email wellness@ecma.com.
“Hillsborough Bridge” is the first single off of Brielle’s upcoming sophomore album, Still Awake, which is expected to be released in January 2022.