“Honest & affectionate, with a little bit of whimsy,” is the sentiment behind songstress Lauren Mann’s latest album Dearestly (Wildwood, 2016). The songs are a poignant narrative of dark and light set against the backdrop of different landscapes, and chronicle years of touring and personal joys and struggles. Musically, the album travels from moments of sparse simplicity to bombastic choruses, anchored by Lauren’s vocal prowess and beautiful melodies.

The Calgary native, who has recently put down roots in British Columbia’s Southern Gulf Islands, started touring full time in 2011 with her first album Stories From Home, a collection of self-produced home recordings. She followed this with the 2012 release Over Land and Sea, produced by Aaron Marsh (Copeland, Person L) and called “a sonic tapestry saturated by sunlight,” by Exclaim Magazine. The diverse instrumentation and beautiful harmonies centered around Lauren’s gift of songwriting garnered the attention of listeners and critics alike, with the songs Weight of the World, Over Land and Sea, and I Lost Myself going into regular rotation on CBC Radio 2 nationwide. In 2014, Lauren and her band affectionately known as the Fairly Odd Folk, were the winners of the CBC Searchlight contest, rising to the top of over 4500 bands across Canada and named Canada’s best new emerging artist.