BRADEN LAM RELEASES DEBUT ALBUM "THE CLOUDMAKER'S CRY"
- tinykingdom
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
“Welcoming Vancouver-based singer Michaela Slinger onto the track for an old-fashioned duet, the two sing about heartbreak and reconciliation while pushing through the toughest of times and coming out strong on the other end.The two soft-spoken vocalists prove to be a great match for each other, blending their tones together as they tentatively venture requests to start taking the slow steps to fully opening back up emotionally.” RANGE on “Wide Open”
“Wide Open" has a classic country feel reinforced by haunting pedal steel and the harmony singing of Vancouver’s Michaela Slinger, who co-wrote the tune with Lam in Nashville. Lyrically it digs deep, probing a challenging time in a relationship and the warm and poignant vocals of Lam deliver the message skillfully.” Billboard on “Wide Open”
"Braden Lam's inviting voice rings out over gentle guitar and vibraphone on ‘Beautiful Neighbourhoods’, a timeless single that vibrates with warmth and longing." - CBC MUSIC
"Crafts an expansive but intimate sonic world for us to lose ourselves in" - Earmilk
"Calling to mind the happiest takes by Ben Howard or Tim Baker" - The Coast Halifax
Today, Braden Lam’s debut record, The Cloudmaker’s Cry, hits the airwaves everywhere. In celebration, he’s adding another run of tour dates throughout Canada this Spring and sharing the new video for “Cowboy Boots”. The track follows album singles “Beautiful Neighbourhoods”, which climbed to #7 on the CBC Music Top 20, “Highway Jesus”, “Hurricane Season”, and “Wide Open”, a duet with Vancouver’s Michaela Slinger. The celebrated Nova Scotia songwriter has also been recently named as one of 8 semi-finalists in SiriusXM’s 2025 ‘Top of the Country’. The three finalists will be announced on April 14.
“Cowboy Boots”, which features Lam’s wife Lassie Fai, “kicks off the ‘country cruising’ middle section of the record," says Lam. "It’s difficult early on in my career being away so much while the person I love most still has to be back home holding down her own job and cheering me on from there. Near the finish line of writing this record I got to be a homebody for a rare moment of time and really microfocus in on the day-to-day of our lives. It was a re-awakening to our goals and dreams. Sometimes we can feel stuck in the present, or just absolutely loathe being away from each other, but ultimately this song captures the connection of two soulmates and being excited about the future together. It’s not really about the cowboy boots at all."
The video for the “Cowboy Boots” uses two very contrasting environments, the Arizona desert and a Spring morning in Nova Scotia. “The video team of Griffin O’Toole (Director) and Tim Mombourquette (Cinematographer) match-cut myself and Fai together into this stunning split screen visual that depicts the two opposing sides of my life on the road and at home," explains Lam. "You can feel both the distance and longing between myself and Fai without ever actually seeing us together."
MORE ABOUT THE CLOUDMAKER’S CRYThe Cloudmaker’s Cry is Lam’s debut full-length album, and he means album in the classic sense: 10 considered and thoughtful folk songs, meticulously arranged and painstakingly sequenced, meant to be played on a turntable in a single sitting, whiskey optional. Though barely 27, he has lived the life of a much older man—with years of touring, entrepreneurship, and marriage already accounted for—and this collection of songs reflects lessons learned earlier than most, about time and love and the world.
It was produced in Toronto by Eli Browning, a new approach for Lam, who made his previous three EPs with a host of producers across Atlantic Canada. The pair’s touchstones as they worked through a city springtime in a converted church studio were George Harrison, Neil Young, and other sounds from the 1960s and 70s: music that is lyric-forward and performed with folk instrumentation in analogue tones, resulting in a timeless singer-songwriter record.
This vibe carries through the entire package, from the tintype photographs of Lam to the images wrought in 35mm in the liner notes, to his charming video collaborations with Griffin O’Toole that combine nostalgia, surrealism, and camp into a distinct style of film. Each particular piece fits perfectly into the primary vision, creating something grand in its authenticity and comforting in its warmth.
TOUR DATES
Apr 25, Dartmouth NS, Sanctuary Arts Centre *album release show
May 4, Toronto ON, Adelaide Hall *supporting The Franklin Electric
May 5, Peterborough ON, Sadleir House
May 6, Kingston ON, TBA
May 7, Ottawa ON, First Baptist Church *supporting The Franklin Electric
May 10, Fredericton NB, The Abbey
May 15, St. Andrews NB, Paddlefest
May 17, Belfast ME, All Roads Music Festival
May 18, Portland ME, TBAJune 14, Uxbridge ON, Springtide Fest
Album Art // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
THE CLOUDMAKER’S CRY TRACKLIST
01 The Hold
02 In The Narrows
03 Hurricane Season
04 Cowboy Boots ft. Lassie Fai
05 HighwayJesus
06 Beautiful Neighbourhoods
07 Wide Open ft. Michaela Slinger
08 Bigger Flame
09 Obsolete
10 Sore
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