St.Arnaud is the music of Ian (St.Arnaud), a project that balances buoyant, wry storytelling with roots and early indie influences, all wrapped in lively, danceable arrangements. Often described as “the goofy side of self-serious indie rock.” St.Arnaud began as a solo endeavour in the wake of the 2017 passing of close friend and musical collaborator Luke Jansen. What started as an intimate songwriting outlet has since grown into a dynamic live ensemble, featuring drums, bass, keys, electric guitar, and horns—each performance marked by a playful, improvisatory spirit. The self-titled St.Arnaud (Cordova Bay Records 2026) is the third record, but the first to really represent the spirit of a band.

The collection is to be packaged into three deluxe singles, and then released as a full album. This format of delivery is also a new development, packaging three songs as individual musical movements like in a symphonic arrangement. Each of these deluxe singles is a motley crew of songs, packaged more around a mode of production than a particular genre or feeling. Steeped in the likes of the raucous and fun-loving 70s’ folkers and power poppers like Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers, the result is a larger and livelier interpretation that retains Ian’s penchant for pop hooks and sardonic lyrics. Although this is a singer-songwriter album at its core, it’s also the most collaborative St.Arnaud project to date, with each performing member shaping the arrangements and songwriting.

Lyrically this new set of songs will come from the preoccupation of finding movement in times of stillness, and “capturing snapshots of transient times when you have time to reflect on them.” This connects to the small movements of time and relationships in St.Arnaud’s own life, the nuance of which drives his lyrics, which come from an observational and keen contemporary social perspective. St.Arnaud pushes its slacker softboy rock aesthetic sonically into a combined roots and early-indie rock direction, capturing new and driving rhythms in the songwriting process, and incorporating new instrumentation including pedal steel and electric pianos.

The album and its preceding EPs are a range of material including rock songs, more folk-oriented singer-songwriter songs, danceable rock songs, and emotional ballads, such to be able to assemble an album experience with a distinct beginning and end, complete with rises and falls. St.Arnaud has played with Basia Bulat, Reuben and the Dark, and Lucy Rose among countless others and has performed at stages across the world including The Great Escape, Reeperbahn, New Colossus Festival, FOCUS Wales, and Tallinn Music Week. St.Arnaud has been featured on Exclaim!, Folk Radio UK, Indie 88, CKUA, and the CBC Radio 3 top 10.