“The song ‘Love, The World’ is about a number of things to me, and the meaning keeps shifting since writing it. What is constant is compassion. It is a bit of a mystery, but it feels like compassion is loaded with light and dark, which is why it feels risky; especially since there is no other way through… I have …
“Back in the early ‘90s, Lowest Of The Low seemed far ahead of their time in terms of adding true song craftsmanship to a post-punk template. Now with Jimmy & The Moon, the Stephen Stanley Band fully embodies that approach, while adding to the legacy of his past accomplishments.”
“Keeper of the Flame is a delicate, thoughtful shuffler led by piano and Brown’s sincere vocals that focuses on following your inner light.”
“The other half is the album’s musical sophistication and songwriting scope. The power of Jimmy & The Moon lies in the fact that while it’s imbued in Canadiana, it doesn’t allow itself to be limited by it. The musicianship is grand and superior… Warm, pure nationalistic sincerity with worldly swagger. Albums like this one make me proud to be Canadian.”
“Stanley and producer Brown have created some adventurous and jangly spins of rock/pop and folk energy that shine the spotlight on Stanley’s formidable songwriting, vocal, and guitar-playing skills.”
“…the album quickly captured my heart. Pacem warms you on cold winter days with music that feels like a warm fire. It is also music that overflows with feeling and talent.” (via Google Translate)
“Reminding me a bit of The Rainmakers Flirting With the Universe, The Stephen Stanley Band’s Jimmy & The Moon is a blast of Americana that mixes just enough rock to keep listeners invigorated without detraction. They are a terrific band…”
“As one of Canada’s consummate musicians over the past three decades, Hugh Christopher Brown (better known to many as Chris Brown through his partnership with vocalist Kate Fenner and their former band Bourbon Tabernacle Choir) has always tapped into the spiritual healing power of song…It’s the kind of soul music few artists outside of, say, Van Morrison, ever attempt…”
“Hugh Christopher “Chris” Brown has a tendency to find music — actually, he would say that it finds him — in the most unexpected places: while at a funeral, sitting in a Toronto lawyer’s kitchen, or even from behind bars.”
“Next to Me” from The Stephen Stanley Band’s new record ‘Jimmy & The Moon’ produced by Hugh Christopher Brown. Featuring Hadley McCall Thackston.
“From the beginning, I wanted this video to be black and white, it completely was the tone of the song for me. So, set on the beaches and roads of Wolfe Island, featuring Hadley McCall Thackston’s haunting performance, this was exactly as it was meant to be.”
“This is Brown’s first proper solo recording in years, and to make it he drew extensively from the community he’s cultivated on Wolfe Island, where he moved from New York City in the last decade… It’s the most musically diverse collection Brown has ever put out, and it’s a welcome return from a songwriter who has a lot to give.” …
“Pacem is one of those albums that works on the listener from the inside out. The more I listen, the more I am astonished by its depth and intricacy. The album begins with a Chant of St. Ignatius extolling the divinity of all things and ends with a lyrical, plaintive folk song. Between these two pieces are masterfully constructed songs, …
“A cathartic, vulnerable piece of work, Pacem brings feelings of serenity and introspection to the listener.”
“Overall the album was well put together and had me hooked from beginning to end.”
Hugh Christopher Brown plays a song from his new album “Pacem”
The jangly, hooky roots rock of the Stephen Stanley Band’s first album, Jimmy & The Moon, will sound familiar to fans of Lowest of the Low, who for decades have heard Stanley’s guitar motifs embellishing the band’s classic songs. Stanley left the veteran Toronto indie band nearly five years ago. “It became apparent there wasn’t a place for my songwriting …
Halls Of Folsom – Hugh Christopher Brown with Sarah McDermott and David Gogo at the Duncan Showroom
Ahead of its release, Brown is setting “Keeper of the Flame” loose into the world. The windswept love song features classic, longing Dobro set against rollicking percussion. The folk-pop artist describes the heartstring-tugging tune as “very simply about someone who makes me want to live and taught me how to love in a whole new way.”
Rocky Roberts live on the Wolfe Island Records porch.
