Montreal-bred songwriter JF Robitaille is no stranger to lofty expectations. Yes, he’s long been celebrated as one of the most engaging songwriters North of the 49 and with 2013’s Rival Hearts, the world began to take notice. After the album charted in Germany, he found himself playing at Hamburg’s fabled Reeperbahn Festival along with several other gigs throughout that country. Robitaille’s international rep began to resemble his accolades in Canada. Here, a troubadour cut from the same cloth as Leonard Cohen. Or Nick Drake. Or Bob Dylan.
Now Robitaille brings to us Palace Blues the most ambitious album he has ever written. Recorded in familiar environs—it was captured at Preston, Ontario’s House of Miracles with longtime friend and bassist-guitarist Tavo Diez de Bonilla (Jenn Grant), drummer Marshall Bureau, keyboardist J.J. Ipsen (Hayden, Jim Guthrie), and horn player-guitarist, studio owner Andy Magoffin who also engineered the sessions. The result is his boldest, brassiest, and most accomplished work yet. No small feat.
On the first single “Missing You,” he taps Canadian indie-rock mainstay Julie Doiron (Eric’s Trip) to add bright dabs of vocal colour. The song his currently #5 on the CBC Radio 2 Top 20 Chart.
The album will be released in the spring of 2016 via Sparks/Universal Music Canada and thru Ingrooves internationally.