Del Barber (on sale Friday, December 13, 10:00am)

With five Western Canadian Music Award wins and a plethora of nominations for JUNO Awards and Canadian Folk Music Awards, Del Barber has spent the past 17 years patiently shaping the folk music canon in Canada.

When Del set to writing the 12 songs that comprise his eighth album, he adhered more than ever to a prairie aesthetic. The record follows Barber’s acclaimed 2021 album Stray Dogs: Collected B- Sides Vol. 1, made during the height of pandemic restrictions. Stray Dogs, which brought Barber to the end of one season, Almanac doggedly led him into the next.

“I want my work to be seen as subtle by definition,” Barber says. “I want my statements to come across as questions rather than decrees or opinions. Some of the songs are descriptions of my world through my own eyes, a way of songwriting I’ve never felt I’ve done well until now. Writing Almanac felt like I had another chance. It felt like spring.”

After writing Almanac on his farm 400 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg, where he lives with his wife and two children, the 3-time JUNO Award nominee took his road band into the city. The album was recorded at No Fun Club in the space of a week with co-producers Grant Siemens and Scott Franchuk. Barber says that he wanted the atmosphere in the studio to be spontaneous and collaborative, traits that definitely shine through on Almanac’s lively, unpolished sound. “It was a really beautiful session,” he says. “There were no grand intentions, just an aim to get good friends and players together and record a pile of my songs. Going into this session I really wanted to enjoy the process, not think too hard, and just keep it simple and honest. I had a group of great songs and I really didn’t want to stand in their way.”

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