Norma MacDonald - Old Future

Noyes Records
(NR047-1: 708527200049/NR047-2: 708527200032/NR047-3)

$21.70

Release date: 4/24/2020

Norma MacDonald’s voice hits the nerve that runs down the spine of the Appalachians from Canada’s east coast to the Smokey Mountains, tinging in the tension between storyteller folk and classic country.

Her new album, Old Future, leans into nostalgia and contradiction, picking up 1960’s Dolly and Loretta vibes with a spotlight on the pedal steel while nodding to 1970’s California folk-rock with layered acoustic guitars and lush harmonies. MacDonald co-produced the album with Dale Murray (The Guthries, Hayden) who played on her previous albums. Their musical kinship sounds effortless here, but MacDonald’s songs are the heartbeat of the album, swinging between familiar stories of “good luck and heart ache” without cliché.

Born in Cape Breton, MacDonald is a staple of the Halifax music scene. Her four previous albums were critical darlings, received numerous Music Nova Scotia and ECMA award nominations, and received considerable airplay in North America and the UK.

"MacDonald sings pensive, melancholic songs but with a lightness and warmth to her voice." - Exclaim!

"...perfectly polished.” - The Coast "There is a bluegrass melancholy in her voice and lyrics." - Pennyblackmusic

"MacDonald's confident songwriting places her as an agent in these emotions, rather than a passive actor to which these emotions happen." - Adobe & Teardrops

"...an undeniable talent." - Canadian Beats

1. Temperamental Year
2. Trick of the Light
3. Golden Age
4. One Man Band
5. Your Wedding Day
6. Wonder in the Summer
7. Slow Down Marie
8. I Already Have a Shadow
9. Lover of Unreason
10. Some Days