Originally from Shigawake, a small village of farmers and fishermen located on the Gaspé coast, Shaina Hayes is also a farmer. We find precisely something of the immutable rhythm of the seasons in Kindergarten Heartsecond album from the singer-songwriter whose stripped-down folk exudes a calm that is much more rural than urban.
We say bare, but it is not because there is no covering – let us rather speak here of delicacy and sobriety, of an airy work which breathes and gives a lot of space to the clear voice of the a singer.
On the production, Shaina Hayes worked with David Marchand (guitarist and pedalsteel guitar master) and Francis Ledoux (drums, percussion) of the group zouz – collaborators of Klô Pelgag and Mon Doux Saigneur, among others. With the two musicians, she forms the basic trio of the album, to which other instruments are added as needed, mainly piano (Jérôme Beaulieu) or keyboards (Étienne Dupré, third member of zouz).
The whole thus gives a pleasant impression of lightness: the title is not, moreover, Kindergarten Heart for nothing. The whole album is a call to rediscover your heart and your childhood joy, to marvel at the beauties of nature, to get closer to yourself and others, to enjoy the sweetness of life. The texts oscillate between carelessness (Fun) and melancholy (Sun and Time), in a soft and soothing atmosphere, whether we are on the side of pure country (Sidewalk) or a more evanescent indie pop (vague de Chaleur).
We listen to Shaina Hayes as we lounge at the foot of a tree on a July day, when a gentle wind rustles the leaves. Well, well, suddenly we can’t wait for summer.
Extract of Kindergarten Heart
Folk
Kindergarten Heart
Shaina Hayes
Bonsound