Ariana Gillis - Maze  (click on image to watch video)

 06 May 2019

Famous and influential people adore the music of Ariana Gillis. Rock critic and author Dave Marsh first brought the young Canadian singer-songwriter some deserved attention in 2011 through satellite radio. Elton John’s songwriting partner Bernie Taupin became an instant fan, as did Americana mover-and-shaker Buddy Miller, producer and record label exec Don Was and Canadian music legend Bob Ezrin.

If you want in on those legends and others’ secret stash of fresh new folk tunes, check out Gillis’ album The Maze, co-produced by Miller in his Nashville studio and scheduled for a June 14 release.

Gillis sells the emotion in every melodic, passionate lyric in the twangy title track, the atmospheric “Rock It Like Fantastic,” the romantic “Lost with You,” the character study “Jeremy Woodstock,” the introspective “Less of a Woman” and the raw, rocking “Slo Motion Killer.” These and five other new songs serve as a solid exhibit A for anyone questioning all this hubbub started by Marsh, Taupin, Miller and others. For less famous folks in the know, the album’s a positive sign that the creative well enriching 2009’s To Make It Make Sense and 2011’s Forget Me Not runs far from dry.

As for categorizing Gillis beyond listing off her best-known fans, she’s not just another (North) Americana artist on the fringes of the mainstream. Nor is she a throwback to anyone from the galaxy of mainstream folk stars—from Joan Baez to Joan Osborne. Instead, Gillis, age 28, has found her own voice throughout a career spanning her adult life, leading up to an album that might just sway some new celebrity admirers.

Bobby Moore

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