The beautiful thing about music is that it's pretty universal. There's no end to combinations of sounds, notes and tones, and no pressure to be defined by just one genre. Rae Spoon's recent release I Can't Keep All Of Our Secrets is a perfect example of this. The Montreal-based singer-songwriter's sixth full-length album, a haunting yet dancable electronic record, still has Spoon's roots at its core. "I couldn't just abandon folk music, abandon my strengths to make an electronic album," says Spoon, who paved the road to their career with folk and country music. "To me it made sense to not lose the songwriter structure, and in that genre it sticks out as something different. The thing that electronic music sort of lacks for me is that narrative." The narrative behind I Can't Keep All Of Our Secrets is a personal one, inspired by the sudden loss of a close friend, but Spoon's grief is wrapped up in catchy melodies. "My idea was to make an electronica, experimental album," they say. "But if you pull the lyrics out you've kind of got these dark folk songs." Spoon's already acclaimed release isn't the only thing making waves this month though. After Xtra magazine refused to use the plural pronoun in reference to comic artist Elisha Lim and used transwoman Lexi Sanfino's legal name on Facebook, Spoon turned down an interview with the mag and took to their blog to speak out for not just for trans people, but anyone oppressed by the binary gender system. "Gender can be oppressive to anyone at some time or another," Spoon says. "It's kind of cool that it's recognized outside of smaller queer communities. You can't choose something unless you know it's allowed, or possible....I'm not going to follow stereotypes just because I can't fit those specific ones. I don't think anybody should have to."
Sat urday February 4, The Company House, 2202 Gottingen Street, 8pm, $12/$15
