Michael Bernard Fitzgerald is a Canadian singer/songwriter who has collected an audience of fans across North America drawn to simple honest words and a genuine smile. Having released four full-length albums to date, Fitzgerald has spent his career since 2006 creating music, touring, developing as a songwriter, and connecting with audiences. Fitzgerald’s unique and innovative ideas coupled with his inherent warmth allow him to engage with people in a way that always leaves them meaningfully connected.

Love Valley is the culmination of Fitzgerald’s experience as a songwriter and the warm vibe achieved on the LP is something he is carrying over to his live shows. Faced with very few options for touring due to COVID-19, Fitzgerald came up with the idea to set up the Greenbriar Tent in his own backyard in Calgary where he played an intimate concert for a handful of folks Tuesday through Saturday night each week. Guests were treated to a concert and conversation.

At OCL studios in Calgary, Canada, Fitzgerald and his longtime friend and producer, Josh Rob Gwilliam, worked closely to bring life to Love Valley. This time, rather than bringing in other artists and producers, Fitzgerald and Gwilliam worked closely together to find concision and consistency throughout the record. The outcome is something fervent and purposeful.

The LP features some amazing musicians including Brett Resnick, who has worked with Kacey Musgraves and Margo Price on pedal steel, Lyle Molzan who has done drum work for Kathleen Edwards and Emm Gryner, and Art Edmaiston on Sax who has worked with Jim Lauderdale and Jonny Lang.

Hard to “stick in a box,” Michael Bernard Fitzgerald has, in his previous works, an easy listening/pop (produced) sound with indie lyrical sensibilities, i.e., a modern tone all the while trying to say something. In his fifth studio album, Love Valley, MBF is still trying to tell a story, however, the musical tone of the album is very different from the other four before it.

Musically, the whole album has continuity from start to finish. Unlike his previous works, this sound is scaled down. Acoustic guitar, and cajon seem to be present in all the songs. Keyboard, saxophone and pedal steel guitar get added as embellishments. As such, the instruments tend to stand out when used.

Lyrically, some of the things he sings about seem almost mundane, like where he always parks his truck or dancing under the same light in the house or the sound of a sharpie on moving boxes. But, it's these things that bring out the intimacy of this album and give the listener a feeling of closeness with the narrator. His lyrics make you feel like you are there, living his life, right next to him. In songwriting there is an axiom: “the more specific, the more universal.” His lyrics have that feel to them. They make you feel like you are there, seeing him and his significant other, live their love story. It’s very warm and inviting and that feeling runs throughout the entire album.

The first track on the album, “Heart of It” sets the tone for the whole album. He describes coming home, driving down a dirt road and it gives the listener a feeling of relief and a sense of belonging with these first few lines; “Drivin’ the highway back home / There’s a calm here I can’t describe / Golden sunset bouncin’ off the dash / Baby I’m home, at last.” He goes on further to describe this place, but in the chorus, he repeats “Baby you’re the heart of it.” Letting the listener know that the house isn’t really what he is trying to get back to.

Track 2 is something, I believe, that we can all relate to. “I Love That Sound” is a song where MBF lists all the things he loves about being home. To me, this is one of the standout tracks in the album. Again, the lyrics draw the listener into everyday life, but from a perspective that this is something to be cherished and not overlooked. Oh, and as for “That Sound,” you will just have to listen to the song to find out what it is.

“Our River” is one for the hopeless romantic in all of us. The narrator is talking to his partner, asking what if they just left their fast lives in the city, bought a farmhouse in the country. The song's vibe is one of simplicity and hopefulness. MBF’s lyrics take you back to a simpler time where life just wasn’t so complicated. “What if we bought ourselves a farmhouse / With a kitchen FM radio / We could put cedars off the back door / When the wind picks up, they’ll wave to and fro” The imagery that his words create is one of complete serenity and paints a picture of a place of rest and love.

“Famous” seems to be a bit autobiographical of MBF’s recent life being in quarantine and living a slower, simpler life that he contrasts with what life has been like for him over the past several years with travel, shows, and awards. And now, quiet, getting coffee from the corner store and maybe coming to the realization, through life and experience, that fame isn’t all that he thought it was or all that he wanted. I really enjoyed his line where he says that “Our friends will come to visit us.” It reminds me of the story of how, since the world shutdown, he set up the Greenbriar Tent, at his home, and where he has played small intimate shows. It really does sound like a magical place and something that fills a need these days.

The next to last song, “The Alter,” sums up the whole album with lyrical elements found mentioned throughout the album, the farmhouse with a wraparound porch, the FM radio in the kitchen, dancing under the string lights, and a marriage proposal.

The whole album is a love story. Not told in grand statements, but in simple, everyday terms of dreaming of being home, washing the dishes, getting out the good plates for visiting friends, taking an evening stroll, and a wedding. Love Valley is a bit of a departure from his previous works, yet MBF still remains true to himself and his writing. This work stands out with both grounded sincerity and dreamy optimism.

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