‘Across The Raccoon Strait' feels like the moment Meels stops searching for her voice and starts fully inhabiting it. The seven-song EP, released via Lost Highway Records, builds naturally on the promise of 2024’s ‘Tales from a Bird’s Bedroom,' but it sounds surer of itself, more grounded and more adventurous in its emotional reach. Where her earlier work introduced a compelling new presence in indie folk, this collection deepens that impression, drawing the listener into a carefully observed world where humour, memory and quiet vulnerability coexist. There’s a sense throughout the record that Meels has found a creative home, and she invites you in without ceremony.
The opening track, ‘Out West,' sets the tone with what Meels aptly calls Critter Country, a loose but thoughtful blend of folk, country and bluegrass that feels both lived-in and gently playful. The song moves with a freewheeling ease, its warmth underscored by an affection for place and character rather than grand gestures. That balance between nostalgia and honesty becomes a throughline for the EP, as Meels explores the landscapes that shaped her while remaining keenly aware of how time and change complicate those attachments.
‘Old Mill Valley' continues that reflection, offering a wistful meditation on a town aging alongside its people. Lines about bringing back the freaks and sweeping the debris carry both affection and frustration, capturing the tension between preservation and progress. It’s one of the EP’s most quietly pointed moments, grounding its charm in a real sense of loss and longing. That attentiveness to detail and place gives the record a strong emotional spine, even at its most lighthearted.
‘Vultures,' one of the EP’s early standouts, brings movement into the picture. Built like a mid-tempo road song, it turns small tragedies and passing observations into something gently propulsive. There’s warmth in its humour and a looseness in its groove, but also an underlying awareness of impermanence that keeps it from ever feeling throwaway. Meels has a gift for making the ordinary feel worth sitting with, and here she does it with an easy confidence.
The EP’s quieter moments are just as compelling. ‘Willow Song' invites stillness, urging the listener to step back from the noise of everyday life and find calm in simplicity. ‘The Wizard' takes an even more personal turn, transforming Meels’ lifelong experience with OCD into something whimsical and poetic rather than heavy or didactic. It’s a striking example of how she reframes vulnerability as something approachable, even gently humorous, without ever diminishing its weight.
‘Praise The Sheep' shifts the focus outward again, celebrating the rituals and comforts of farm life with a light touch that feels earned rather than quaint. That sense of appreciation for small, grounding pleasures flows naturally into ‘Marsha June', a tender tribute to Meels’ unconventional grandmother. The song closes the EP on an intimate note, honouring lineage and memory with restraint and affection, and leaving the listener with the sense that these songs are part of an ongoing personal archive rather than isolated snapshots.
Produced by Meels alongside Peter Groenwald and Mark Campbell, Across The Raccoon Strait sounds cohesive without being rigid. The arrangements give the songs room to breathe, allowing her expressive vocals and storytelling instincts to remain front and center. There’s a communal, almost conversational quality to the record, mirroring the warmth and humor that have become hallmarks of her live performances.
Taken as a whole, ‘Across The Raccoon Strait' feels less like a stepping stone and more like a statement of arrival. It’s confident without being showy, personal without being insular, and rooted in tradition without feeling bound by it. Meels emerges here as an artist unafraid to trust her instincts, crafting songs that feel like they’ve always existed somewhere just off the beaten path, waiting for someone attentive enough to bring them home.
Track Listing – Across The Raccoon Strait
Out West
Vultures
Old Mill Valley
Willow Song
Praise The Sheep
The Wizard
Marsha June
