Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Major Love, LR 2021.
The first I heard of Major Love was the single Tear it Down with its ‘60s psychedelic vibe and catchy melody.
It caught my imagination and sent me searching for more about the band.
It turns out that Major Love is a collaboration between Canadian singer/songwriter Colleen Brown and the Alberta band Scenic Route To Alaska, with additional input from Elijah Abrams from Ontario.
Colleen Brown is a versatile singer and multi-instrumentalist who can, and does, turn her hand to many different music genres from folk to rock and she’s a prolific writer and recorder.
Major Love , the album and band, developed out of shared time between Brown and her other collaborators while they were on tour in England and the continent.
It just so happened that Scenic Route To Alaska were wrapping up a tour to Europe while Colleen was completing her tour of England and they found themselves on the same dimly lit stage in Shoreditch, London, where they bonded over their combined love for vintage Harmony guitars and melodic pop/rock.
The album was recorded a month later at Edmonton’s true North Studios by Brown and Scenic Route To Alaska, where multi-instrumentalist Elijah Abrams added his contributions to the project.
The first two singles Tear It Down and So Good immediately gained airtime on college radio in Canada and the album debuted at #19 and stayed in the top 50 for 12 weeks.
Two other singles have received attention from the music press for the quality of the writing and performances, Motherland, and I Love All of You.
Motherland won the ATB award for song writing back in 2015.
Major Love is one of those happy collaborations between musicians who, despite their apparent differences, find they have a great deal of shared experiences and loves.
There’s obvious chemistry between them and joy in what they are doing.
Each member provides something positive to the project.
Colleen Brown’s voice soars over the great pop/rock rhythms produced through the prominent chunky guitars, solid bass, and drums of Scenic Route To Alaska members giving the songs a life and energy that can only come from successful collaboration.
There’s not a dud song amongst the ten tracks on the album.
