WATCH “GUTS” HERE
7TH STUDIO ALBUM OUT FALL 2019
Prolific Canadian troubadour Eamon McGrath premieres a powerful new single and video titled “Guts” via Stage Right Secrets from his 7th studio album to be released later this year on Saved By Vinyl.
Filmed in Detroit by Ryan Brough of Zeebrah Media and inspired by the bizarre otherworldly surrealism of David Lynch, the video’s storyline serves as the perfect counterpart to the lyrical content. “What takes courage, and what is the easy way out?” asks McGrath, referring to the song’s instantly-familiar refrain.
In the mysterious dystopia, the viewer is transported to a world best described as misogyny incarnate: women have vanished. For why, how, and how long, the viewer does not know; what we do know is that their time on earth has rapidly come to an end. Listlessly and aimlessly, the male subjects of “Guts” inhabit and wander a world post-collapse as the inevitable threat of extinction is rapidly approaching. The video is a “guided tour” through the horrors of toxic masculinity: a competitive pool game between two drugged-out barflies, a grieving bartender shamefully holding back tears, a character’s private moment of weakness in a bathroom stall hidden from his entourage, a doomed salesman exhibiting the tragic and sinister limits of sexual objectification, all within the confines of a dystopian, womanless world. “The easy thing is to let the status quo remain and to not solve any of the problems that continually lead to hatred’s dark and sinister conclusions. It’s always harder to do what’s absolutely necessary to make a change.”
“Guts” is all at once Blue Velvet, Lord of the Flies, and A Clockwork Orange, yet perfectly suited for the rapid societal changes of our present time. “Chauvinists argue that this is a ‘scary time for men’,” McGrath continues. “But the reality is that the entirety of human history has been fucking terrifying for women. Things are changing, and change takes courage, because only people with courage have the capability of changing anything.”
The consummate author and songwriter has put the final touches on his upcoming seventh full-length record in what is becoming a landmark outpouring of work from the 30-year-old Toronto-based musician. In an exploration that began with Tantramar, McGrath expands on that album’s dark, introspective and atmospheric musical landscape that many call Canadiana: Americana’s darker, colder, Northern cousin.
McGrath wrapped a successful Canadian tour last year in support of
Tantramar.
“I’m not interested in basing a career around the act of drunkenly jumping around on stage anymore,” McGrath reflects. “In all my years of touring, I remember the quiet, acoustic, intimate shows more than anything. Playing in a great-sounding hall in Innsbruck
has stuck out to me more in the long run than any sweaty basement show in Vancouver.”
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