05/18/2024
‘Slay’la Miller and the Slay City All Stars. 💅🏼✨
Good buddy and her ace band blew into the from the windy city of Lethbridge like a cosmic hurricane. It was a star-studded evening (literally), and I was thrilled to capture the night under the sparkling lights of the NMC.
After sitting in for some of the recording of ‘After the Masquerade’ at the world-class recording studios in Studio Bell, it felt like a full-circle moment to hear the album performed front-to-back in front of a packed house. It was also a family reunion of sorts, getting to see so many good friends, musicians, and absolute gems in the audience.
I still remember the wry grin on Shaela’s face when she told Sean and I, in some abandoned limestone school basement for a Project Wild video shoot, that she was going to make a space synth country album. It was a brave pivot from the critical acclaim she had already accumulated for her classic honky-tonk sound. But it was pretty clear from the sparkle in her eye that she had something special cooking.
And cook she did! Yes, pedal steel and synths live together in harmony. ‘After the Masquerade’ is a richly textured sonic achievement — heart-wrenching and inspiring, uncannny yet familiar. The instrumentation is a captivating array of cultural touchpoints. “Is that The Cure’s guitar tone? Were those Prince claps?” A melange of carefully curated 80’s inspired sparkle and ennui, all dressed up with Shaela’s signature voice — piercing, uplifting, tragic and spellbinding all at once.
Congratulations to Graham Lessard, and the whole band for their beautiful creation. And a big congratulations to Shaela — one of the most badass and kindest creatives in the industry. Ya slayed it. We knew you would.
I’ve got too many favourites from the album to choose for this post, just as I’ve got too many favourite photos to make sense of. I made like six drafts of this and I still can’t decide. Here’s a bunch of ‘em anyways. 💛