New Music: Stills by Megan Landry
On August 2, a two-year marathon of songs by a young Ottawa artist was released as a debut album titled Stills. The only thing you have to know about Megan Landry is that she’s a truly self-propelled artist with no small amount of talent. Just start with the song “Fork”:
Or perhaps the startling video for her song “Wallpaper”, which she directed and shot. Hey, all her videos—not to mention her album cover art—are self-made.
There is the recurring theme in Miss Landry’s dreamy indie pop of the latest of nights, particularly the earliest hours of the morning. She subscribes to the philosophy that the best ideas are up for grabs when everyone else is asleep. This seems to be working: she’s an adventurous multimedia artist and an accomplished singer-songwriter who’s already a professional photographer and videographer at the age of 18.
Having to point out her age seems like a bit of a defeat for this writer. I don’t think that the age, sex, creed or colour of an artist should have anything to do with the appreciation of her or his art. Adding information to an article is always helpful, but sometimes what makes an artist stand apart is the last thing that should actually be taken into account. Miss Landry finds herself at the junctions in life that are incredibly important to many of us at that age. What her art says is there’s a lot that came before that was just as important, if not more. We tend to pay attention to the big dates, the coming of age, the impatient rush to get to “adulthood.” Miss Landry has needed none of these landmarks to create her mature, weird, fun, and heartfelt music up until now. All she’s needed are her earnest voice, and her mature and poetic take on life in the 21st century.
She was lauded three years ago for a violent song about the effects of bullying titled “Stronger“. Last year she signed a publishing deal with Streets Music UK and now graces their homepage, and she’s been recently working with Grammy-award winning Serge Coté. These are not seeds being sown, they are sprouts already growing into healthy saplings.
I highly recommend Stills to anyone who likes indie pop, thought-provoking lyrics, and seeing an artist be as brazen as they should be. Stills is available on iTunes & CDbaby.