REGINA — Sophomore studio album Soft Focus Futures from Juno-nominated singer-songwriter Megan Nash has finally released, and it's an intensely personal and heavy installment that the Saskatchewan musician is relieved to finally share.
Nash, whose preferred pronouns are she and they, first teased a new album in the works over a year ago, following the release of the single “Artifact” in October of 2020.
The pandemic delayed the album’s production, but with a successful launch to streaming platforms on Nov. 3, Soft Focus Futures is now out in the world and Nash said she couldn’t be more excited.
“For me, this album is a personal milestone and I feel just really happy with it,” said Nash. “I’m really, really proud of these songs [and] if I’m fortunate enough to live to my 90s and listen back to this album, it’ll be like, ‘yeah, I was really honest with myself and my audience.’”
Soft Focus Futures is Nash’s third studio album and first full-length release since their 2017 Juno-nominated album Seeker. She described the new LP as very different from its predecessor, with a more subdued, sad tone that reflects the different era in their life that inspired the bulk of the albums track list.
“It ended up being a big album about a lot of change [and] a lot of the songs are very heavy,” said Nash. “They discuss divorce, they discuss the anxiety about dating again after something as heavy and heartbreaking as divorce. There’s so much vulnerability in this album.”
Nash said she’s had questions about whether Soft Focus Futures was written as a pandemic album, which she clarified is not the case, but the tone of the album does tie closely with what many have been feeling over the past two years.
“There’s so many songs that suggest loneliness and solitude, like ‘Quiet’ and ‘Another Silent Night,’” said Nash. “But honestly, that loneliness is just about the divorce process and it's not even touching the pandemic.”
She said it's a very personal album, both in content and in creation, and that it feels a little surreal to listen to now. Because many of the tracks were first written a few years ago, this 2021 debut is something of a walk back through time for Nash.
“For me, it's really a time capsule for 2018, 2019, 2020. It's a scrapbook of those years,” said Nash. “Sometimes, they take me back to where I was when I was writing them but then also, because my friends have played on them, they’re bigger than those initial moments that inspired them, the pain or grief, because my friends have added their love to the song and it takes us to a different, less sad place, in a way.”
Nash and band The Best of Intentions started recording in early 2020, but ultimately finished Soft Focus Futures from their respective homes due to the pandemic, over a much longer period of time than usual for the process.
But the extended timeline offered a new bundle of opportunities for Nash to celebrate singles from the album, which she said was a new marketing tactic that turned out to be really fun.
Five singles included on the final track list made their own debuts over the past two years, and in between, Nash dove into creating music videos and unique photoshoots for each single.
“I loved that focus on each single,” said Nash. “I’m still writing albums and I’m still happy to release records, that’s very fun for me, but it was also fun to concentrate on each song.”
The extra time to really finesse the record also allowed them to write two extra songs that became, in Nash’s words, the “mission statement” of the album — “Table for One” and “Table for One Reprise."
“It was kind of a gift, the extra time I had,” said Nash. “It was hard, but having that time to reflect and then be inspired by other creatives was really cool.”
In parallel with the LP’s exciting release, Nash also dropped a new video for single “Table for One,” filmed close to home in Crescent Park in downtown Moose Jaw.
The distanced production also allowed Nash to do some collaboration — including with Yellowknife musician Digawolf and Nash’s own beloved companion Shiloh the dog, heard on “Table For One Reprise” — which would have been tough to do with in-person recording sessions.
Overall, Nash said she is feeling overwhelmingly proud to see Soft Focus Futures finally hit the stands, both literal and virtual, as it's an album that has been in the works for so long.
“It feels really great to have it out there,” said Nash. “It's been such a long process, and so the fact that it's out of my hands and I can’t make any more edits, there’s a relief to that.”
And while questions about a new tour to celebrate Soft Focus Futures are still in the air, Nash is planning to step in front of audiences close to home on a few dates in the near future.
Megan Nash and The Best of Intentions will be at The Exchange in Regina on Nov. 26, before popping over to play Amigos Cantina in Saskatoon on Nov. 27.
Moose Jaw will also welcome Nash and company back to the stage at the revered Mae Wilson Theatre on Mar. 19 — a venue and city Nash said she is always excited to be back in.
Tickets for the above shows are already available to purchase, from each venue individually.
Soft Focus Futures is available to stream on most music streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and more.
