By Josh Hughes
Noah Derksen’s first album is called Man That I Am, and his second is called In Search of The Way. On a mere surface level, there’s a funny contradiction to be found in both the combination of those phrases, and which comes before the other. Yet, between his two records and the 14 songs that they encompass, there’s an obvious continuity that relies on Derksen’s personal divide between spiritual acceptance and romantic loss. For every “I’ll be your crutch, I’ll be your wisdom” there’s a “now it seems I’ve lost control, but from what I do not know,” and for every moment of realization there’s another regression of character.
Derksen, 23, a Canadian songwriter from Winnipeg who’s made a name for himself in the last two years with his brand of self described “contemplative folk,” will be the main act at this week’s Wednesday Night Concert Series. After graduating from UBC with a degree in behavioral neuroscience and oceanography and playing college volleyball, Derksen decided to further pursue his musical career, starting with 2015’s Man That I Am. After touring throughout parts of Canada and the Northern U.S. for that record, his current tour, which kicked off on February 9, will take him all down the coast into Northern California.
Noah Derksen’s music certainly comes out of the revival of modern, woodsy folk that Bon Iver so notoriously brought back to the forefront of music; you can hear the echoes of “For Emma” in the horns and piano of “In Search of The Way,” and the imprint of Bon Iver’s 2007 album For Emma, Forever Ago seeps into much of Derksen’s music. Yet where Justin Vernon’s high rasp rings high above his arrangements, Derksen’s lower register leaves more space in his music, allowing deep vocal inflections to eventually get lost in acoustic guitar patterns.
As they fluctuate between melancholic ruminations and meditative reflections on prayer, Derksen’s lyrics give his music an additional heaviness that makes his songwriting stand out amidst background coffeehouse folk. There are hints of Damien Jurado, Alexi Murdoch and Keaton Henson in his songs, and his understated cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne” brings an even older lineage of folk icons into his sound. Like the aforementioned artists, most of Derksen’s music consists of his vocals and acoustic guitar, so even without some of the brighter flourishes of horns and piano, Derksen’s live performance should be close to his sound on record.
In an interview a year ago, Derksen spoke about the distinction of live performances versus recorded material.
“The act of performing for me is very liberating,” he said. “It gives me a purpose — an excuse, almost — to open myself up in an environment that I feel I have at least some influence on. It’s a great way for me to explore different components of myself that would otherwise remain untouched.”
Opening for Noah Derksen is Maddy Smith, a Bellingham songwriter who has spent the last few years touring extensively around both Bellingham and Seattle. Her music, while along the same spectrum as Derksen’s, relies more heavily on country and jazz, though everything is still centered around her excellent vocals.
After releasing Hudson and Further To Fall, Smith is dropping her latest EP No More Time To Be Afraid on February 15, the same day as the UGCH Concert, so her performance doubles as an album release for that project.
Smith writes quaint folk songs that quickly draw comparisons to Jenny Lewis or her band Rilo Kiley, but she also draws from New Orleans jazz culture in most of her songs, recalling the not too distant glory days of alt-country. Songs like “Hudson Bay,” off of her EP of the same name, indulge in dive bar piano chords and wistful, soprano vocals. Others, like “Crowded Room,” let Smith croon her heart away over delicate jazz drumming verging on something you’d hear on Wilco’s latest record.
As with the whole concert series, this show will take place in the UGCH at 7 p.m. this coming Wednesday, February 15. Each artist’s set will last 45 minutes, starting with Maddy
Smith and ending with Noah Derksen. If you want to snag a seat, be sure to get there early; these last few weeks the once under-the-radar shows have been filling up quickly. (I like to think my articles have had something to do with that, but really it’s just been all of the great musicians.)