Rae Spoon Ponders Colonialism

Instead of the usual odes to Canada's vast and mysterious landscape, Rae Spoon explores some of the darker notes of this country's history. All this while he's travelling via Greyhound to share his seemingly patriotic release, Superioryouareinferior, with the nation.

"I see colonial ghosts as all of the not-so-far-off histories of colonization in Canada," says Spoon. "Everyone who lives in Canada plays some role in colonialism. It seems like it has become really easy for the people who have benefited from that history to ignore all of the effects of it."

Superioryouareinferior dives into the depths of the Canadian psyche and tackles issues of colonialism, isolation, racism, wildlife, ghosts, economics and madness. This isn't your typical ode to the vast and expansive country for which we stand on guard. Oddly enough, the majority of the record was created over Spoon's six-month stay this past winter in Weimar, Germany.

"I think songwriting is one of the most accessible art forms," he says. "It crosses the boundaries that usually wouldn't be crossed.

"A lot of my early country music tours were proof of this. I was in places that I may have never gone, meeting people that I may never have met."

Over the past decade, Spoon, a born-and-bred Albertan, has toured extensively throughout Canada, Australia, Europe and the U.S., all on his own accord. As an independent transgendered country crooner, Spoon knows a thing or two about life off the beaten path. His discography includes 2006's White Hearse Comes Rolling, 2005's Your Trailer Door and 2003's Throw Some Dirt On Me.

Spoon attributes his times spent away from the wild west as part of the reason for leaving honky-tonk blues behind.

"I haven't really lived in Alberta for longer than a month in the past 10 years. The country music and metaphors would have felt a bit put-on if I had kept writing them.

"I draw a lot of inspiration from my surroundings. I think I like to use description of place to make emotional meaning. I've been writing songs since I was 12. In some ways, making music is more of an identifier for me than anything else that came later on."

Catch Spoon in these cities:

Nov. 26 Toronto, ON @ Gladstone Hotel
Dec. 3 Hamilton, ON @ The Pepper Jack Cafe w/Wax Mannequin
Dec. 4 Toronto, ON @ The Boat w/Wax Mannequin
Dec. 5 Kitchener, ON @ The Boathouse w/Wax Mannequin
Dec. 6 Peterborough, ON @ The Spill Coffee Bar w/Wax Mannequin
Dec. 10-11 Guelph, ON @ House Concert w/Wax Mannequin
Dec. 12 Kingston, ON @ The Living Room w/Wax Mannequin and Rueben Degroot
Dec. 13 Ottawa, ON @ Avant-Garde Bar & Gift Shop w/Wax Mannequin
Dec. 14 Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo w/Wax Mannequin
Jan. 8 Edmonton, AB @ TBA
Jan. 11 Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore Cabaret