Megan Bonnell tackles some tough truths
Singer-songwriter finds inspiration from strong female artists on third album
It seems a rite of passage for singer-songwriters. At some point, they will produce their dark, cathartic album.
While Megan Bonnell sounds bright and cheery on the phone from her home in Toronto, much of the attention paid to her third record, Separate Rooms, has focused on what could be regarded as the uncomfortable subject matter floating through some of her songs. Catchy opening track, Breakdown, deals with mental illness or, more specifically, “the sexist notion that emotional women are somehow unstable or crazy” The heartwrenching Radio Silence is about early pregnancy loss.
“I think the writing of this album kind of timed up with the important shift that has been happening in society within the last couple of years, "says Bonnell, who will play the Webber Academy on Saturday for a live taping of the Stampede City Sessions. “I think, in general, people are sharing their stories and coming forward and I think we are (talking about) topics that used to be taboo to discuss. We are totally breaking down those walls. Now we’re connecting over them and empowering one another with them.”
Which is not to say the entire album is a downer. The track Someday I’m Going to Kill You, a collaboration with Great Lake Swimmers bassist Bret Higgins, may be dark in subject matter, but the lyrics behind the icy, New Wave-influenced track are really just a product of the two co-writers’ similarly warped sense of humour, Bonnell says with a laugh.
Whatever the case, the songwriter gave herself plenty of time to find her way through the darkness on Separate Rooms. Unlike her sophomore record Magnolia, which was recorded quickly in a “fancy studio,” her third outing took a year to come together. She again worked with producers Chris Stringer and
I think that the writing of this album kind of timed up with the important shift that has been happening in society within the last couple of years.
Joshua Van Tassel, who also play in her band, and collaborated not only with Higgins but also Toronto singer-songwriter Donovan Wood, who co-wrote the title track.
“We really built the songs from their bare bones up,” she says. “It made me aware of the time (needed) to allow the magic to happen. It felt very necessary. I had that in mind all along when I was writing the songs for this album: If we have the option, let’s take chunks of time out of each month and just work on it until it feels complete. It really felt like such a luxury to be able to do it that way and a really cool experience. It allowed everything to marinate a little bit. Song by song, we were able to be so meticulous in all the sonic details.”
The album certainly sounds fully formed, veering from piano ballads to anthemic folk-rock, to guitarpop as Bonnell explores loneliness, lost love and broken relationships.
The songwriter grew up in the small town of Caledon outside of Toronto, where she attended an arts high school and studied voice. She was writing her own songs before she graduated and by the age of 19 had formed the indie-pop band Reily and was touring across the country.
She has been recording and playing as a solo artist for the past eight years. Bonnell says she hopes Separate Rooms mirrors the sort of artistic evolution and honesty she heard in her favourite female artists growing up.
“They were edgy, outspoken,” she says. “Alanis Morissette, Fiona Apple — these women never sanded down the edges to make what they were saying more gentle or digestible. That’s inspiring, to tell it like it is and be forthcoming. It felt very natural to me because I like going there, even in conversation. That’s the kind of person I am.”