SEE: Chris Garneau – “Stranger”
Stream / YouTube
“With ‘For Celeste,’ Garneau has returned with an undeniably lush and soulful ballad and a moving tribute to owning identity and casting off shame.”
– Under the Radar
“The song is anchored by a plucky harp that swells into an expansive string arrangement of viola, violin, and cello which adds depth to Garneau’s guilelessly wistful and liberating lyrics about calling out boundaries.”
– KEXP
“Reflecting, relishing, and releasing emotional childhood wounds, ‘Not the Child’ delicately pierces The Kind‘s storyline. Backed by Garneau’s angelic vocals and lush instrumentation, ‘Not the Child’ is a moving ode to youth, growing up queer, and maneuvering through the tortuous paths of adulthood.”
– American Songwriter
“The clip finds the Garneau reflecting on a queer childhood through dreams and intimate home movies…The video, like the song itself, is colorful and full of drama.”
– Variance
“Intimate, pared-back and powerful, singer-songwriter Chris Garneau’s latest release, ‘Now On,’ rests heartrending lyrics over sparse piano.”
– Cool Hunting
“Chris Garneau has always pursued his own strange sonic path, drawing on a diverse array of influences to create an otherworldly, haunting and distinct lane in the singer-songwriter universe.”
– Billboard
Shifting gears from his poignant, ethereal album The Kind (2021), Chris Garneau joins forces once again with producer Patrick Higgins (Zs, Nicolas Jaar) to make new sultry single “Stranger“: a more chill, soul-infused ballad. Originally written for the closing credits of a pilot teaser, the track was recorded in a day at Kingsize Soundlabs in Los Angeles; an apt horn arrangement written and performed by CJ Camerieri (Bon Iver, Paul Simon) was recorded later in New York. Garneau wrote the song inspired by a scene from a teleplay about a father/son relationship gone dark — an all too familiar territory for him, and yet the country-soul character of the song, with its meaty bass and almost saccharine brass section, offers a taste of something more approachable and fun.
Speaking on the track, Garneau wrote:
“When a person you’ve known your whole life becomes a stranger in an instant – that’s the energy of this song. It’s a little glimpse into this moment where you find out that the bad took over the good in someone you love. It can be really painful, and how you navigate that doomed relationship is sort of up to you. There is no right way to do it. But the weirder part about it is that once some time goes by, you can start tracing these patterns in their behavior and realize maybe they were never really able to be there for you. That can be even more painful. And recognizing that you were responsible for your own share of that trouble is important, too. I guess the peace is in knowing that you’re ultimately better off without one another.”
