The Critchleys take a trip down memory lane with their debut single Nova Scotia’s Lonely — premiering exclusively on Tinnitist.
A bittersweet, nostalgic East Coast folk lament about leaving a place you can’t truly leave behind, Nova Scotia’s Lonely is the first joint release from brothers Owen and Spencer Critchley. “I was far away from Nova Scotia when Nova Scotia’s Lonely began,” says Spencer. “I was writing with Bob Rea, who’s from there, and he asked me if anything was on my mind. ‘Nova Scotia,’ I said, and as I started to explain what those words meant to me, the song appeared — or much of it did.”
Fittingly, they began recording the song at Joel Plaskett’s Fang Studio in Dartmouth, with Don Ross on guitar and Leith Felming-Smith on keyboards. Owen added his vocals (and a tin whistle solo) at his home studio overlooking Mahone Bay. Spencer mixed the song while overlooking Monterey Bay back in California. The renewed collaboration felt so good that the brothers decided to keep going as The Critchleys.
The. brothers first worked together in Bermuda and then in Toronto, where their band Aceboy — with Owen on vocals and Spencer on guitar — were signed to a development contract with Warner-Chappell Music, gaining national airplay with their single Let It Be Love. They also wrote and recorded music for CBC shows and other projects, while Spencer contributed to some of those shows as a writer-broadcaster.
Then they moved farther afield. Spencer went to California, where his projects included working with pop star and innovator Thomas Dolby at his Beatnik tech startup and composing the soundtrack for the Emmy-winning film Blink. Owen returned to Bermuda, where he wrote and produced songs for island artists The Kennel Boys, and created music for film, TV, playlists and compilations.
Check out Nova Scotia’s Lonely above and below, listen to the song on your preferred DSP HERE, and keep The Critchleys company at their website, Instagram and Facebook.
