Photo: Bells Larsen
Graham Ereaux, alias Devarrow, is a Canadian crooner and composer whose tunes tumble through themes of small-town solace, soul-searching solitude, and societal and environmental concerns, all set against the backdrop of his unique love affair with a converted school bus that doubles as his melodic hideaway. Despite his ostensibly bustling life as a carpenter, surfer, and nature enthusiast in rural coastal Canada, his Heart Shaped Rock, shatters any illusions of artistic stagnation.
Devarrow drips vitality into the folk scene, a genre prone to languor, with his invigorating take on life’s simple pleasures. His melodies resonate like a heartfelt hymn to rustic existence, drawing deeply from his daily diversions, diverse interests, and shared communal experiences. Rooted in a profound appreciation for simplicity, he finds peace in paring back technology, savouring silent moments with a steaming mug by his wood stove, and pouring his musings onto the paper with a vintage typewriter.
“Holy Ghost” is an older song, and its origins are even a mystery to me,” says Devarrow. “I remember the first time I played it was at an outdoor concert in Munich, Germany in about 2018, but beyond that, I cannot recall when it was first conceptualized. What makes this song special for me, is that it is theonly song on the record which was performed live. The recording you hear was in fact from a DIY demo session I did with my band in 2018 in an old farmhouse in Nova Scotia. At the time of recording, I had a terrible ear infection, so my vocals were terrible as I couldn’t hear myself. The vocals were recorded fresh during the creation of Heart Shaped Rock, but all other instruments are from the original demo. This song is a testament to the fact that you can recreate recordings, but you can’t always recreate a vibe. I tried to re-record this song in its entirety, but in the end, I realized the demo was just the best.”
Watch the video for “Holy Ghost” below
“A lot of songs on this record have a large theme of love and relationships, and I think it would be easy to think that the love I’m thinking about is one between people,” says Devarrow. “All The Little Things is an example of how I often use basic language about relationships as metaphor for bigger ideas. …I’m never actually talking about a distinct person, and instead, am often referring to the relationship with oneself, and the desires to find love within oneself.
“All The Little Things is an ode to my twenties, an obituary of sorts,” he continues. “I found my twenties to be marked by anxiety, depression, and a deep sense of insecurity. I’ve welcomed my thirties in with open arms, and am happy to have grown so much over the past several years. This song is about the end of one chapter in life, and the beginning of another.”
Listen to “All The Little Things” below:
This record is a poignant plunge into the poetry of life’s plain pleasures, swayed by the sagacity of tomes like The Unsettling of America and The Encyclopedia of Country Living. Through Heart Shaped Rock, Devarrow dives headfirst into the mission of breathing fresh life into the folk genre, all while wrestling with his own thorny ties to it.
At the heart of Devarrow’s harmonies lie tender truths, offering an unvarnished yet universal window into the world of a millennial maneuvering through the maze of meaning in small-town Canada. Rather than skirting the somber soul of folk, Devarrow steers through it with reverence and a hunger to inject a fresh perspective. His hope is that we all reach a point where we collectively shrug off what doesn’t matter and, against the odds, start giving a damn about what truly does.
Devarrow was kind enough to speak with Post-Punk.com about his inspiration, process and what makes him tick as an artist.
What was your inspiration when you were writing “All The Little Things?”
All The Little Things, like a lot of my songs, came from an ad-lib writing session, just sitting at the piano and singing whatever comes out of my mouth. I love this style of songwriting, as subconscious lyrics often reveal interesting turns of phrases, and puts more emphasis on how a word feels and sound instead of what the word actually means. That original inspiration led me to thinking about mental health, and how my 20s were a time marked with troubled mental health. Right before I turned 30, I decided to go on anti-depressants, a decision which greatly improved my quality of life. All The Little Things is a song about mental health, growing up, and the wisdom we gain with age.
What was the writing process like for ‘Heart Shaped Rock’?
Heart Shaped Rock was written over 15 years you could say. About two thirds of the record is a collection of songs that came from demos I’d written as far back as being 16 years old. I have a lot of half finished songs, and I wanted to make a project of sifting through them, looking for ones that felt popy, and then trying to finish them. In some instances, I’d actually totally forgot I’d written the song and didn’t even know how to play them. It almost felt like plagiarizing myself – ripping off this teenage kid, only that kid was me 15 years ago. Along the journey of finishing those tracks, I found myself writing new songs as well.
At its core, Heart Shaped Rock was written with the intention of being carefree – caring less about what felt cool, and instead caring more about what just felt right. It’s a record about finding joy in simple pleasures, and I paid close attention to this when writing. I wanted to make a record which felt accessible, non-judgemental, and from a place of love and positivity. I wanted to reject the trop of singer songwriters needing to be driven by emotion, grand gestures, and melancholy.
What largely inspired this whole process was the setting of recording. I self produced the record at home, and spent a lot of time writing and recording in a school bus which I’ve converted to a little dwelling. The bus is at the end of a long dirt road in rural Nova Scotia, so the ocean, environment, and the process of building things definitely worked their way into the songwriting and lyrics. A lot of hours were spent in that bus, sitting by the wood stove, drinking endless coffee and tea, and writing songs.
What about music makes you feel passionate?
Music’s association with memory is what makes me feel passionate. When I think about my own life, I often find ereas of my life can be bookmarked by the music I was listening to at the time. I love that about music, and love making music which hopefully evokes or helps develop memory. That said, I don’t consciously think about that while songwriting, and am more inspired by my present environment.§
Heart Shaped Rock is out on October 4th, 2024.
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