Chris Gostling lovingly looks back at Michigan Nights of youthful innocence on his reflective new single and in-studio video — premiering exclusively on Tinnitist.
A sneak peek at the Ontario singer-songwriter’s upcoming album Forest City Town Country, the Jason Isbell-like Michigan Nights wanders the dark, deserted streets of rain-soaked memory, counting the streetlights and wondering when the good old days of carefree romance turned into the bittersweet loneliness of middle aga. In keeping with their world-weary tone, Gostling’s crisp hickory-snap vocals are bolstered by a slowly shuffling folk-rock backbeat, ropy standup basslines, mournful lap-steel lines and swelling, Leslie-swirled waves of organ that slowly but surely pull you into their rich, contemplative netherworld.
It’s a place Gostling has clearly found himself. For some artists, the city provides everything they need, but for others, escaping the grind of urban living for the wilds of the country is often more conducive to getting the most out of their creative impulses. The latter has been the case for Gostling. A few years back, he left his Toronto home base for eastern Ontario where he has found the freedom and space he had long been seeking.
Gostling’s first musical offering since the move is his Oct. 4 release Forest City Town Country, the long-overdue followup to 2016’s Breath, Blood & Tempo. He has expanded that sound this time out by working with an accomplished team on Wolfe Island that includes keyboardist Hugh Christopher Brown, bassist Jason Mercer (Ani Difranco, Ron Sexsmith), drummer Liam Cole (Kate Fenner, Stephen Stanley), and co-producer/engineer Jake Bury.
Along with feeling a sense of satisfaction in recording near his new home, Gostling says that playing shows in the area motivated him to embrace new songwriting approaches. “I took a break from music during the pandemic, but by 2021 I was happy to be playing regularly in some informal song circles in the sleepy towns near where I live. This period of quiet, removed from the city, was a great time of creativity and songwriting. By this past January, I knew I had eight strong tracks ready to record. I wanted to work with Chris and Jake because I really loved the sound they pulled off with Stephen Stanley, and other artists on their Wolfe Island label.”
The sound Gostling references blends both entrancing and haunting folk-rock elements, with all of the players forging an intimate chemistry. That contrast is apparent in Forest City Town Country’s first two tracks, Alice and Bleed. As Gostling explains, “Alice is a narrative made up of a collection of overheard lives lived. I rented in various apartment buildings over the last few decades and the walls were always thin; you can’t help but be an unwilling participant in other peoples’ lives. Bleed is somewhat of a counterpoint as it’s about that first unexpected moment when you realize you’re missing someone when they aren’t there. It can catch you off guard and expose your vulnerability, but at the same time it can be a nice feeling.”
Other highlights on the album are Hardened Hearts, which Gostling describes as the first love song he’s ever written; The Lesson, a song born out of observing someone repeating past mistakes; and Quarter Killing Time, a reflection on the shift from adolescence to adulthood, and not being able to go back to the things you have known. Punk Rock Noises is the album’s most upbeat tune, written in admiration of fellow musicians who can experience catharsis through volume. The album ends with the poignant Colder Without You, which posits that grief seems to last longer during the winter.
No wonder Gostling considers Forest City Town Country a major step forward in his artistic evolution, and his most accomplished work to date. “I think I have moved past a lot of the tropes that we all start with as writers,” he says. “I spent two years taking weekly piano and music theory lessons just before I left Toronto, which was wild after 26 years of being a basically self-taught musician. Lyrically I also feel that I have made a lot of progress. But my wife Laura is my main inspiration, and my best editor. As a fellow creative, she really pushed me to try things fearlessly, be flexible, and ultimately be confident in what I was committing to. Those are the things that provided the foundation for this album, and hopefully everything I do from now on.”
Watch the video for Michigan Nights above, hear more from Chris Gostling below, and join him on his website and Facebook.
