It wouldn't be surprising if a music fan was unsure how to interpret quartet Pith's self-described genre of “bardcore cosmic country freak folk.”
Fortunately for Sault audiences, they can find out for themselves on June 13 at The Loft, when Ottawa-based band Pith, and Toronto-based cellist/songwriter Eliza Niemi, perform.
“I use the ‘bardcore’ tag pretty loosely,” explains Pith singer, guitarist, and songwriter, Chris Love.
“We have kind of a medieval sensibility that comes through in a lot of our songs.”
With songs like “Guinevere” and “Holy Grail” from their 2024 album Live from the Shed, Love’s explanation checks out.
“I’m just trying to cozy up to the great works of that quasi-medieval genre like T. Rex’s Unicorn, and Fleet Foxes’ self-titled album.”
Love explains that the band has tried to blend that medieval sensibility with the “cosmic country” of The Flying Burrito Brothers, Townes Van Zandt, Nashville Skyline-era Bob Dylan, and Neil Young's country albums.
“When I got my second-hand lap steel a whole world opened up,” says Love.
Pith has three full-length studio albums (2014’s Song of the Neverending Ugly Lizard, 2016’s Sweet Sweet Morning, and 2020’s Pick Me Up With Yr Suction Cups, as well as a live album, this year’s Live from the Shed.
Simply from the titles of their albums, one can deduce that the band clearly enjoys a little humour with their art.
“It’s hard to take oneself too seriously as a Canadian DIY musician,” laughs Love.
“We are essentially jesters.”
Love compares onstage banter with bandmate Sarah Bartlett (guitar and backup vocals) as similar to that of a vaudeville duo.
“We’re just Ottawa Valley deadbeats cooking up our little tunes. Ironically, in the ten years we’ve been at it, I feel like we’ve circled back to something pretty accessible and we couldn't be more stoked to share them with the good people of the Sault.”
Although from the Ottawa region, Love self-describes as an “honourary Sooite by marriage.”
“I met my partner Jasmine, who was born and raised in the Sault when we were both students at Carleton U.”
Love visited the city for the first time back in the summer of 2014 and was immediately hooked.
“I love the Sault and I think it should be the capital of Canada,” says the singer.
I come from the Ottawa Valley, which has its charms, but the Sault beats the hell out of Ottawa any day. Truth be told the Sault looms large in my songwriting and about fifty per cent of the songs in our set list directly name-check places in the Sault, like Whitefish Island, Lake Superior.”
The city “looms large” in the band’s friend circle too.
“I met Jas through a group of guys who all moved from Sault Ste. Marie to Ottawa for school, so my clique has had a disproportionate Sault representation ever since. We’re bringing a carload of friends with us from Ottawa for The Loft show because everyone’s so curious to finally see this town that they’ve been hearing about for years.”
Love’s band Pith will be playing the Loft, performing the opening set for cellist/songwriter Eliza Niemi.
“Eliza is a genius,” says Love.
“I’m insanely lucky to be playing a show with an artist whose work I admire as much as any of the all-time greats of music history.”
Love describes Niemi’s music as singer-songwriter but anchored by cello rather than guitar or piano.
“She’s singing and shredding on cello at the same time,” says Love.
“It’s very unique in how subdued it is. That restraint creates an incredibly unique vibe that I really can’t compare to anything. There’s a bit of winking humour to it too, which is a line she walks in a super impressive way. Way better than we do. And what’s extra fun about this tour is that I’m told her band has a second cellist and a drummer. I am super stoked to see that lineup in action.”
Over the past few years, the Pith and Niemi have heard many positive reviews of The Loft as a venue.
“I hear nothing but amazing things about The Loft, and we don’t usually get such elite accommodations,” Love says.
“It will be so cool to rock in such a historic building and can’t wait to hear Eliza’s dual-cello set through such a quality sound setup. But beyond that, really genuinely very exciting and heartwarming to perform for people who we’ve never had a chance to play for, our Sault Ste. Marie friends, family, and anyone who happens to discover the event.”
Love says the audience should expect two very different “experiments in indie-folk” that evening.
“Pith will be a bit more boisterous, a bit more unhinged. Then Eliza and her band will mellow things out, serving control, subtlety and precision, and sending us all home downright serene.”
Love wants the Sault audience to make an extra effort to listen for a new Pith song they will be performing called, “Like a Double Double.”
“That’s our closer for the show,” says Love.
“It’s essentially an anthem against the Weston family. It includes a line I’m quite proud of, ‘Running out of bread on my every pay cheque / I can feel Galen Weston’s dirty hands around my neck.’ The whole song is anchored by the recurring metaphor of the mighty Timmies’ double-double, the poisoned nectar of this withering land. And to boot, it name-checks the Sault twice!”
Pith is currently working on a 4th studio album called Guinevere.
Niemi and band are on a tour out to Calgary’s Sled Island festival that also includes stops in Sudbury and Thunder Bay – check the artist’s Instagram for more info on those shows.
Eliza Niemi and Pith
Thursday, June 13, 2024
Doors at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m.
The Loft (75 Huron Street)
Tickets $20. Available here.
Find out more about Pith on Instagram, Bandcamp, or Spotify.
Find out more about Eliza Niemi on Instagram, Bandcamp, or Spotify.