Haunting poetic alt-country with a strong dose of Americana and folk.

12 MP3 Songs
COUNTRY: Alt-Country, COUNTRY: Americana



Details:
A Native American girl flees dejection and alcoholism on the rez only to disappear along the highways of rural Manitoba. Desperate for cash, a war orphan turns to bank robbery and finds himself mercilessly holed up in prison. As death slowly approaches, an aged gravedigger contemplates the course of his life and the possibility of another. These tales could easily be found in the pages of literary fiction, or captured on the celluloid of indy cinema. In reality, they are songs.
Introducing the music of Lee Mellor- twenty-five years old and slowly garnering attention as one of Canadaâs most underrated songwriters. His words have been compared to the celebrated Canadian author Timothy Findlay, his songwriting and delivery to such greats as Steve Earle, Dylan and Stan Rogers. He has been praised by Canadian country legends Prairie Oyster and veteran Montreal radio host and critic Mike Regenstreif, while his debut album âGhost Town Heartâ (2007) has been called âbrilliantâ, âdetail-richâ and âin your face.â So who is he?
Born in Englandâs industrial north-west, Mellorâs first impressions of the world were smoke-stacks, rain and the stench from the local animal incinerator. In the face of chronic health problems, the Mellor family decided to flee the pollution for greener pastures, arriving in Canada during the late eighties. They settled half an hour east of Toronto amidst the subdivisions and farmland of Bowmanville, Ontario. Growing up, Mellor excelled in subjects such as writing and history, voraciously consuming as many novels as he could before discovering rock at the age of thirteen. Overnight, he stopped writing short stories and began writing songs. Following graduation, Mellor spent two years in film school were he began to delve into poetry, folk and country music. Encouraged by the reaction to his new songs, Mellor quit film school, uprooted and took his song to Montreal- the Mecca of 21st century Canadian popular music. Here he cut his teeth at the same Plateau bars and clubs as breakthrough acts âThe Arcade Fireâ and âThe Stills.â Seeing the potential to catapult onto the global stage, Mellor swore to expend as much money and effort as necessary to craft the perfect debut album.
In August of 2007 his task was complete. Released independently âGhost Town Heartâ met with warm critical and popular reception particularly among students, blue-collar workers and folkies. This collection of twelve songs offers fresh, introspective insight into such time-honoured topics as love and war, faith and fidelity, memory, identity and death. Presently Mellor is touring with his band to promote Ghost Town Heart, and beginning pre-production on his anticipated sophomore album Desperation. He has played numerous music festivals including Canadian Music Week and Summerfolk, and has been spotlighted on CBC Radio, Radio Free Montreal and various newspaper publications in Montreal and south-western Ontario. To quote CBC radioâs Jacquie Czernin, Lee Mellor is one Canadian artist who is âgoing far!â