Fiver with The Atlantic School of Spontaneous Composition – Jr. Wreck
Fiver is the alias of the enigmatic musician Simone Schmidt, a masterful songwriter and storycrafter, a legend in Canada, who today releases their final single prior to the release of their self-titled album on Friday, May 7th via You’ve Changed.
Throughout 2017-2018, Toronto-based Simone Schmidt (Fiver) arranged the music in a small white house in Scotch Village in unceded Mi’kma’ki, along with the Bianca Palmer (drums, percussion), Nick Dourado (lap steel, piano, vibes, sax), and Jeremy Costello (synths, bass, voice); rightly dubbed “The Atlantic School of Spontaneous Composition” based on their improvisational style and geographic location.
Schmidt’s voice is powerful and exquisite, each musician adding painterly, cinematic elements to create a blend of swirling musicianship, transcendent narratives, classical country and psychedelic depth. The album is firmly rooted with respect for the better parts of leftover traditions but adds in progressive ideals and harmonic vision. Fiver invites you to face the past and hold yourself and others accountable with their latest single, “Jr. Wreck.”
Jr. Wreck was hard won – firstly a song to myself in the past to remember lessons about reconciling what we say and what we mean. Its secondary address is to Justin Trudeau who is the prime minister of Canada, who truly says one thing and does another. Here between the two meanings is the warning against being like a politician in life; if you don’t know the answer, admit it. I played it around for a long time, but ultimately arranged it with Jeremy, Nick and Bianca. I still feel it very much when I sing this song, but listening to the recording now, the part that stirs me the most is Jeremy’s bass solo in the middle there. Nick’s piano and Bianca’s drums make the perfect place for the song to unfold.
Simone Schmidt
Fiver with The Atlantic School of Spontaneous Composition is out May 7th on You’ve Changed Records. Pre-order it here.
Press photo by Jeff Bierk.
