Helena Deland – Goodnight Summerland
The Montreal-based songwriter’s enrapturing second album explores the complexities of grief and finds new joy in simplicity
From the moment Helena Deland’s haunting vocals arrive on Saying Something, Goodnight Summerland is musically, lyrically and thematically enrapturing. It is a record of pure beauty and elegance, brimming with beguiling melodies and dazzling progressions. Written and recorded in the aftermath of the loss of Deland’s mother, the album puts words and music to the complexities of grief, its conclusions morphing from sorrow to appreciation, regret to determined hope. Deland muses on the power and shortcomings of words, longing to speak to those no longer here and acknowledging the difficulties in connecting with those who are.
Goodnight Summerland departs from the curious, unpredictable musical arrangements and dissociative lyricism of her first album, 2020's Someone New, which, like the painting on its sleeve, was a shadowy, emotionally ambiguous portrait of the artist. Instead, Deland finds new joy in simplicity on Goodnight Summerland; inspired by the songwriting of Joni Mitchell and Vashti Bunyan, she celebrates the sheer transformative power of a great song. More straightforward arrangements, open-hearted lyrics and use of harmony combine to create a record that feels like healing, like resolution.
Goodnight Summerland is a record to get lost in, and one to take heed of. It seems to implore: don’t be afraid, say the things you need to say.
Listen to: Drawbridge, Swimmer, The Animals