Owen Marchildon is a songwriter and guitarist who has been part of the Toronto music scene since 2002. His creative output has been prolific, producing volumes of his own music independently since 2005; 10 full length albums, one EP and several singles under four different monikers – Purple Hill, Rough Skeletons, Marchildon! and High Wasted. Owen also played bass for the critically lauded math rock quartet From Fiction and later with Julie Kendall’s surf-soul project 1977.

2024 sees Owen pulling back the veil of all his previous monikers and releasing new music under his own name. His debut album, Dangling Towards Heavy Sunlight, is a masterful fusion of rock ‘n’ roll nostalgia where power pop melodies meet witty, vivid storytelling. It’s an album that feels both familiar and fresh, a love letter to classic rock ‘n’ roll with enough personality to stand on its own. Longtime bandmates and collaborators, Jordan Bruce and Brent Hough, spread out the sound, complimenting the style, imagination and fabric of Owen’s songwriting. 

Highlighted track, “Weather Gurl,” tells the story of someone harboring a secret crush on a weather anchor, capturing the ache of unrequited love with clever, vivid lyrics. The song is a delightful blend of classic rock influences brought together with a fresh twist. 

Musically, the record was influenced by my love for artists like Big Star, Tom Petty and Lou Reed. As far as the storytelling and lyrics go, I tried to convey a more John Prine meets Micheal Hurley approach with a twist of myself for good measure.  But one of the biggest influences for the record was my guitar teacher at the time, Neil Clark. This was the first time I’d ever taken a guitar lesson and it really floored me. I only took about a handful of lessons from Neil but the impressions he left with me are enough to last a lifetime. So I was really able  to execute what I was hearing in my head instead of trying to convey those ideas to others. – Owen Marchildon