Writing and recording music is starting to get a little more serious here. These were all songs written in the summer of 1995 and recorded in late 95 and 96 at Distortion Studios in Ottawa.
The apartment on Arlington Street was down behind the bus station. It was a place full of adventure and, well, danger. Seems like this is true in pretty much every town. The closer you are to the bus station, the more you're likely to find yourself in trouble late at night. The folks on the street were all good and decent to one another. But everyone there was fighting something inside. The see-saw of addiction and recovery was well worn on the faces of everyone on the block. For our part, this was an incredibly boozy time. The whole period on Arlington probably only lasted about four months, but I barely remember eating anything. There must have been food in there somewhere, but it was mostly booze. Freezing cold beer was the order of the day as the temperature that summer was unbearable. So many nights of shuffling down to Bank Street for a visit to the Duke of Somerset to see Jimmy George or holding court at the Dirty Oak. It was a great summer. I'm glad I didn't die.
From here, we start to see some better thinking and planning coming into the tracks. Still really pleased with the lyrics to "How To Use This Songwriter" and "The Problem With Nina" still feels like a golden oldie pop song to me. But "Sunset Smile" remains the standout. There was an earlier version of that tune on "Albert Street Songs" but a re-working done here with more instrumentation and some guitar work that was actually mapped out suits it better. Still an important track for me, even today.
Listen to Arlington Street on SoundCloud
Track Listing:
