The process of writing songs for Leif Vollebekk has changed over the years. What he’s learned is to not overthink anything. Whatever comes to mind, do it. Play it. Spontaneity in the creative process should be an admirable notion—not something to push back against. So, with his third studio album Twin Solitude, Vollebekk did just that. He let go of the idea of recording these “perfect” tracks, as he did on his first two albums Inland and North Americana, and just went where the singer-songwriting process took him, writing and recording quicker than he ever expected, but still with gusto. You can hear it in the single “Elegy”—just a glimmer of what to expect off the full-length to be released February 24 by Secret City Records.
Vollebekk’s music, regardless of the process, is perfect-for-winter folk—serious and beautiful, poetic and romantic. He takes you on his travels of small country towns to big cities like New York and Paris, and then on to Iceland and back home to Canada, singing about love and longing and long nights on the road. His songs might be slow and steady, but they’re powerful, soaked with emotion, and striking at always the right time with a harmonica or piano solo, a violin, or the steady picking of a bluesy guitar.
He’s played Newport Folk Festival and has shared the stage with some big names—but what matters most is his music, the captivating presence of it and the way he commands your heart, whether he realizes it or not.
Mercury Lounge
2/28
Doors @ 6:30 p.m. (early show)
$12
Ticketfly.com