Corb Lund spent weeks at a time in the woods during the dead of winter before he released his newest album, Cabin Fever.
The album was released in August after a three year hiatus from his sixth album, Losin’ Lately Gambler. The Alberta-based country singer, along with his band the Hurtin’ Albertans, played Fredericton’s Playhouse Sunday.
“I get ideas on the road and I record them but I don’t have a whole lot of time to sit down and flush them out.”
Lund spoke over the phone in a New York cab on the way to the airport. After playing shows in the United States, Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans started their cross-country tour in Halifax last Friday.
Cabin Fever was the product of spending many nights in a desolate cabin in the woods an hour outside Edmonton. Even though the cabin was remote, Lund didn’t have trouble finding inspiration.
“To be honest, it doesn’t matter where I am as long as I have room to myself it doesn’t really make difference,” said Lund.
Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans are known for their out of the norm country sound. They appeal to rockers and traditional honky-tonk fans. Their sound can’t be categorized, nor can their fans. According to Lund’s website, the band’s listeners range from “goth girls to survivalists.”
This makes sense when hearing how Lund developed his interest in music. Growing up, Lund was in a rock back and slowly began melding this genre with western music from his roots.
When he began incorporating more country into his sound, Lund said he lost some fans but gained a lot more.
“I don’t know I liked both [genres]. I did both at the same time. It wasn’t really a cold turkey kind of thing. Some of the older rock fans followed me over too.”
His family embraced Lund’s music career when it took a turn towards the west. They supported his rock band, but were pleased when twang began creeping into his songs.
“My family is kind of cattle people and I grew up with that kind of thing, so yeah… My folks didn’t like it but they were surprisingly supportive. Rural themes and western music they really liked.”
Lund had built the cabin with his girlfriend and uncle from spruce and poplar trees. Since its completion, his relationship with girlfriend of thirteen years ended and his uncle had since passed away. Darker themes crept their way into his latest album.
“I like dark themes, I guess. I don’t know, I didn’t really do it on purpose. We had an illness and deaths in the family and a couple of break-ups,” said Lund.
Lund admits to contracting a case of cabin fever himself from spending so much time within those four walls. This led to the album’s name.
“You kind of get weirded out. I did a lot of writing there, so it seemed like fitting. It’s pretty fun to be all the way out there alone.”
