Quiet Part Loud by Adam Staple
Adam Staple’s brand of indie rock appeals to me.
His last album, SuperAntiHero, has been in high-rotation on playlists since it’s release. So I was pretty excited to discover that he’s got a brand new collection — Quiet Part Loud.
The title, according to Staple, “represents overcoming years of internalized shame about having a mental illness, and the therapeutic normalization of ‘going public’ with the battles we often keep private. As in ‘go ahead, own it; say the quiet part loud’”.
True to his title, Staple doesn’t shy away from sharing his stories of mental health. It makes for an interesting, thoughtful and, above all, musically rewarding journey. One that feels personal but still very relatable.
I’m enjoying the whole collection — and the album really deserves to be heard as a whole collection — but if you’re not a beginning-to-end kinda listener, test the waters with tracks ‘Vegas Moment,’ ‘Rapture (ft. Kelly Russell),’ and ‘Decoder Ring (ft. Jayne Batstone)’.
‘Vegas Moment’ is inspired by “a full-blown panic meltdown in a multiplex washroom” and takes a musical cue from Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush. It features guest vocals by the amazing Kelly-Ann Evans.
‘Rapture (ft. Kelly Russell)’ is, indeed, that ‘Rapture’ — a rework of Blondie’s early 80s with an assist from legendary NL fiddler Kelly Russell.
It’s a faithful, but inventive, take on the original.
‘Decoder Ring (ft. Jayne Batstone)’ is ridiculously catchy.
According to Staple, it’s inspired by the social connections that come out of music and how sharing mixtapes can lay the groundwork for a sort of secret shorthand. It’s a song worth sharing, for sure!
You can hear Quiet Part Loud on streaming services right now. A limited edition vinyl is coming soon — you can find it on bandcamp.
Wanna work on a whole Decoder Ring sitch with me? — Listen to Vegas Moment and a whole lot of other great music from Newfoundland and Labrador on my NL Mixtape.
