Singles Spotlight:
Starpainter –
“Afterlife”

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Today I’m excited to talk about Starpainter, another wonderful Canadian group that keeps crafting great music. The sextet, based in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, includes Joel Stretch (Vocals, Guitar, Songwriting), Joel Gray (Guitar), Mickey Hayward (Drums), Dylan Wagner (Bass), Bailey Kate (Vocals, Percussion, Guitar), and Tyler Stewart (Keys). As their Bandcamp bio so succinctly notes, “I live on the last road at the very edge of Lethbridge,’ says Starpainter’s bandleader Joel Stretch. ‘It’s easy to head out into the country from where I live. That kinda sums up the Starpainter mindset musically: we’re a town band, but we drift off into country tones any time we want.’ And that, “Starpainter connects the dots between cinematic folk, fuzzy country rock, and richly textured pop.” Intrigued yet? Welcome aboard; keep on reading. 

Starpainter’s discography includes the full-length albums Bury Me By My Family (2020) and Rattlesnake Dream (2023). Be sure to check out both after finishing this spotlight. The latter has received some acclaim, but both albums are worth listening to in my opinion.  And earlier this month, on September 9th, the band released what I think is their best album so far, Cayenne Flowerbed. Chris Dadge (Alvvays, Chad VanGaalen) produced it, and they recorded it in Calgary. Some may be surprised to learn that this is Canada’s third-largest city, with over a million strong in the city proper. Cayenne Flowerbed is an album with a strong “alt-country foundation with touches of shoegaze and alt-pop, proving that they’re a band determined not to be pigeonholed, but instead evolve with each album,” according to the album’s press release.

The band’s About Us page on their site includes an excellent bio written by Sam Boer. Within that bio is an anecdote and explanation of the album’s name: “The album’s title track is an ode to Stretch’s fiercely-loving grandmother. Stretch’s grandmother adored the birds who visited her home and despised the neighbourhood cats who hunted them. ‘I remember her going around her yard, sprinkling cayenne pepper in the flowerbeds under her birdfeeders, hoping to give the cats ‘spicy paws’,” Stretch laughs. ‘Cayenne Flowerbed’ twists this family lore into a reflection on the complicated nature of love: ‘if you’re not angry, honey, maybe your love’s not strong enough.'” As an Upper Midwestern US native reading that, I realize again how much many Canadians are like our Canadian counterparts. Perhaps bonded by similar geography and small-town living, we’re all human, after all. Even in larger cities, I think stories like that provide moments of relatability and unity. Where we go from there is a topic for a different day.

Now that we’ve delved into the band, their discography, and their newest album, Cayenne Flowerbed, let’s explore one of the best songs on the album: “Afterlife”. The guitars soar from the opening note to the closing notes. There’s a solo or two that’ll catch your attention. The drums stay rock-solid, emphasizing the percussive sound over the cymbals, while the rock-forward melody is crafted to match. The other instrumentation adds a twang that completes the melody. The result is a rollicking good time while you listen. I’m sure that this song, with all six band members getting moments to shine individually and together as a group, sounds amazing live. The lyrics are reflective, offering a juxtaposition to the melody as they examine both life and the afterlife, as the song’s title suggests. All in all, I think that “Afterlife” is a great look into the album, well deserving of an entry into our fabulous Singles Spotlight series, and a nice intro to the band Starpainter in general. Listen to their albums and discover more of your favorite songs of theirs, including but not limited to the album’s closer, “Lake Minnewanka.”

But just don’t take my word for it; press play and see what you think of “Afterlife”:

Let’s take a closer look at the Cayenne Flowerbed‘s cover art:

The track list for Cayenne Flowerbed:

1. I Found a River (2:35)
2. Alone on a Road (2:49)
3. Nectarine (3:12)
4. Rabbits (3:52)
5. Cayenne Flowerbed (3:01)
6. Easy Crier (3:14)
7. Swimmin’ Down (2:46)
8. Travelogue (3:04)
9. Afterlife (3:49)
10. Neighbourhood (4:22)
11. Lake Minnewanka (4:31)

Giving credit where it’s due. Who worked on Cayenne Flowerbed ?:

• Produced, engineered, and additional instrumentation by Chris Dadge
• Recorded at Child Stone Studios in Calgary, AB
• Mixed by Jon Anderson
• Mastered by Philip Shaw Bova
• All songs written by Joel Stretch
• All songs performed by Joel Stretch, Joel Gray, Mickey Hayward, Dylan Wagner, Bailey Kate, and Tyler Stewart

Alex M Theel

Co-Founder, Reviewer, Content Creator, Business side, Editor at Scummy Water Tower Productions | Web

Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site, scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions and SWT Interviews. And all of our socials.
Questions, feedback, or more? Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com