Murray A. Lightburn Once Upon a Time in Montréal-
Music, Sounds

Murray A. Lightburn, Once Upon a Time in Montreal: REVIEW

by Dave MacIntyre

“This is a decidedly more elegant, jazzier and stripped-down affair than the music from Lightburn’s day job, but it’s just as emotionally gripping and riveting as anything he’s made.”

Murray A. Lightburn, Once Upon a Time in Montreal (Dangerbird)

The third solo LP by the Dears’ frontman is an incredibly personal body of work — one based on something equally familiar and unfamiliar to him. Primarily, this is due to its central theme about Lightburn’s father William, a former saxophonist who passed away from Alzheimer’s in April 2020, and who felt “almost like a complete stranger” to the younger Lightburn. Self-described as the “album version of a biopic,” this is a decidedly more elegant, jazzier and stripped-down affair than the music from Lightburn’s day job, but it’s just as emotionally gripping and riveting as anything he’s made. Beyond the heavy use of horns, strings and other orchestral arrangements, traces of Nick Drake, James Taylor, Al Green, Leonard Cohen and other ‘60s–’70s singer-songwriters can be felt and heard, particularly on the acoustic-driven “In the Kingdom of Heaven” and the waltz-tempo title track. Once Upon a Time in Montreal sees Murray Lightburn come to grips with the passing of a father he never truly got to know, while also introducing fans to a whole other dimension in his musical oeuvre. 8/10 Trial Track: “Dumpster Gold”

“Dumpster Gold” by Murray A. Lightburn, from Once Upon a Time in Montréal

Murray A. Lightburn launches Once Upon a Time in Montréal at la Sala Rossa on Saturday, April 15. For a chance to win a pair of tickets to the show, along with a signed vinyl copy of the album and a branded mug, please click here.

This review was originally published in the April issue of Cult MTL.

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Posted in Music, Sounds

by Dave MacIntyre

Contributing editor for Music
Dave MacIntyre is a Montreal-based freelance journalist. His primary topic of interest is music, but is equally comfortable writing about sports, current events, and Montreal-related initiatives. Outside of Cult MTL, his bylines can be found in publications like BeatRoute and Northern Transmissions. And no, he is not related to Reba, nor to the WWE wrestler Drew, nor to Joey from New Kids on the Block.