An Ode to Indigenous Canadians: ‘In the Land of’ by Wintersleep

It [the record title] has this sense of mystery and adventure to it, something sort of unfinished and inviting to it…

Canadian indie rock group Wintersleep released their 7th album, “In the Land Of”, on March 29th. The band features members Paul Murphy (vocals/guitar), Loel Campbell (drums), Tim D’eon (guitar), Mike Bigelow (bass), and Jon Samuel (keyboard).

Wintersleep originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia, before winning both the Much Music Video Awards in 2008 and the Juno Awards in 2017. 

“In the Land Of” placed #4 on our Top 30 chart this week, with a message just as unique as its songs. We spoke with lead vocals and guitarist Paul Murphy for some background detail on this album specifically as well as the band’s major influences.

“The title is a line from the last song on the record,” he tells us.

“On the shy side of 40

 in the land of free pour”

“That line references being at a bar somewhere in the US, where you typically get an eyeballed amount of alcohol versus a carefully measured out one (as we do here in Canada)”.

“I think we chose the first part of that line as a record title because it has this sense of mystery and adventure to it, something sort of unfinished and inviting to it…A lot of the songs reference land and or a feeling of foreignness in one’s skin and surroundings,” he continues.

The album is clearly a meaningful work of art. Something I thought was very special about it was that each song reminded me of a different genre or artist. Throughout the album, the band refused to conform to one specific “vibe".

Murphy also confirmed this. “I think Radiohead is a really big influence that crosses into everyone’s “like” category…Ennio Morricone, Talking Heads, Bill Callahan, Nick Drake, Nina Simone, Sonic Youth, Melvins…We all like lots of different stuff... it’s hard to really pin it all down to having one favourite."

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: Wintersleep's "In The Land Of"

Paul Murphy channels his inner indie folk voice in “Beneficiary,” similar to a Vance Joy song. The song is a ballad about the First Nations genocide here in Canada, as well as other Western civilizations that were built around a history of genocide.

“We have what we have because of oppression and mistreatment and worse of our indigenous people,” mentions Murphy. “I was reading an interview with Peter Carey who was talking about a similar thing in the Australian context and their relationship to it.”

Further discussing the interview, he says: “He referred to himself in the interview as a ‘beneficiary of genocide’ and I feel like it really encapsulates the idea of someone historically removed from these atrocities but who nonetheless benefits and has to come to terms with and find ways to acknowledge and take on a certain responsibility in making it right and also at the very least seeing that current problems in First Nations communities are directly linked to these historical wrongs.”

The song “Beneficiary” reaches true to the Canadian genocide that many Indigenous Canadians have gone through and have felt the effects of.

Whenever I review an album, I like to familiarize myself with each of the songs on the album. I usually do this by analyzing the lyrics. For this album, the song “Waves” stood out to me the most . I noticed that there were very few lyrics to analyze, which I found very interesting. The fact that there are very few lyrics to sing along to pushes you to notice the other aspects of the song, such as the production and intricate engineering of the different sounds that layer beautifully to create the finished piece.

This song puts you in a melodic trance and allows you to truly ponder the meaning of the lyrics .

I couldn’t help but notice how the slow, melancholic beats were similar to  a classic Tame Impala tune. This made me think back to the idea of the band refusing to conform to a specific genre or “style” for the music they create.

Wintersleep’s “In the Land of” has quickly become one of my favourite albums. Every song seems uniquely different to me, which mixes well with the variety of messages the album gives voice to.

WATCH: Wintersleep performs "Beneficiary' LIVE

Whenever I review an album, I like to familiarize myself with each of the songs on the album. I usually do this by analyzing the lyrics. For this album, the song “Waves” stood out to me the most. I noticed that there were very few lyrics to analyze, which I found very interesting. The fact that there are very few lyrics to sing along to pushes you to notice the other aspects of the song, such as the production and intricate engineering of the different sounds that layer beautifully to create the finished piece.

This song puts you in a melodic trance and allows you to truly ponder the meaning of the lyrics.

I couldn’t help but notice how the slow, melancholic beats were similar to a classic Tame Impala tune. This made me think back to the idea of the band refusing to conform to a specific genre or “style” for the music they create.

Wintersleep’s “In the Land of” has quickly become one of my favourite albums. Every song seems uniquely different to me, which mixes well with the variety of messages the album gives voice to.

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