competition ), major co-signs ( from the likes of Gordon Lightfoot and Tom Cochrane ), and highprofile tour opportunities ( alongside the likes of Walk off the Earth and Matthew Good ). Simply put , there was no reason to rush anything .
But even beyond maximizing Augusta ’ s commercial performance , the extra time allotted some artistic benefits and something of a boost to Helman ’ s business acumen . He explains , “ When you ’ re making your first album and you ’ ve never put anything out before , you ’ re essentially figuring out who you are and where you fit in . There ’ s commercial pressure , like you need to come out as a unique artist but palpable enough to work the mainstream , so you come to certain conclusions . But then you go on tour and the music you ’ ve written takes on a life of its own . It develops into more of an organism and less of a concept – less ideological and more of a living , breathing thing . And that understanding has helped me grow as improve as a writer . [ Hôtel de Ville ] is a testament to that .”
Even though it ’ s technically Helman ’ s debut studio LP , the longevity and prosperity he ’ s enjoyed with Augusta has potentially set him up for some form of the notorious sophomore slump – and he admits he felt some pressure in that regard .
“ There was this weird feeling like , ‘ This is my shot and I just have to nail it ,’” he shares candidly , admitting that attitude ended up hindering his material at first . “ The songs I ’ d written at that point were great , but the second I let go [ of that pressure ] and decided to make music the way I ’ ve always made music , the songs just got better and better .”
Speaking with Helman , one gets the feeling he was an avid and curious learner before embarking on his recording career – and that it ’ s served him very well now that he has . “ You can ’ t just walk around with that [ pressure ] or you ’ ll never get down deep to that place where you can make great music ,” he adds .
Hôtel de Ville finds Helman further developing the aspects that made Augusta such a charming and ultimately well-received release while significantly widening its breadth of material . On the surface , it ’ s a bouncy buoyant pop album , but one that carries audible influence from some of Helman ’ s musical heroes , ranging from Dylan and The Boss to Ray LaMontagne and Bon Iver .
“ I ’ d made a statement ,” he says about Augusta , “ but not enough of a statement that I couldn ’ t just go back and redefine some things .”
Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than the album ’ s first official single , “ Kinda Complicated .” Lyrically , it ’ s simple and straightforward but simultaneously memorable and engaging . The tastefully light-but-lively verses foil nicely with the anthemic chorus , ripe with sticky vocal hooks . Really , it kind of epitomizes its performer – just plain likeable without trying to be .
The alt-rock influenced “ Sweet Tooth ” strikes another interesting balance , this time combining an upbeat , driving rhythm with a hooky chorus and seemingly sugary pop lyrics – that are actually about taking drugs . Once again borrowing from William Blake , it ’ s half innocence , half experience .
Conversely , “ 21 Days ” features a bare-bones arrangement that puts the focus on Helman ’ s knack for carving out a kinda uncomplicated but nonetheless memorable melody and letting his voice shine through .
As with Augusta , Helman had some help during the writing process this time out , once again teaming up with Midas-touched songwriters like Simon Wilcox and Thomas “ Tawgs ” Salter , with whom he ’ s been collaborating since landing his development deal with Warner .
Wilcox was Helman ’ s principal writing partner on “ Bungalow ,” and in another of Helman ’ s lessons learned , you don ’ t mess with success . “ She ’ s like my … I don ’ t even know , I guess mentor ? Kind of my big sister in a way ,” he says about what ’ s been a relatively long and prosperous artistic relationship . “ She ’ s not even a human ; she ’ s like a magic creature . We consistently just write amazing music together .”
The two share a unique relationship , often getting lost in talks of literature and poetry or reading through Helman ’ s drunken scribbles and trying to flesh out musical and lyrical ideas together .
As for Salter , he ’ s the source of much of Helman ’ s musical and technical guidance over the last several years , so it ’ s fitting that , in addition to his writing credits , he ’ s also the producer of note behind Hôtel de Ville .
A more recent but potentially just as successful partnership for Helman came in the form of Todd Clark , the man behind Phillip Phillips ’ smash “ Gone Gone Gone ” and an impressive string of other co-writes . Clark has a credit on “ Kinda Complicated ” as well as the percussive pop-rocker “ Kites ,” which kicks off the album following the short intro track . “ He was always a great guy to have in the room ,” Helman shares about Clark . “ I was able to let my voice shine through while writing with him .”
Helman says he ’ s always game for a cowrite , just to see where things land , though says that , typically , the partnerships don ’ t last . That makes it all the more important to keep his cast of successful collaborators close .
“ It ’ s funny ; the artist in me understands the whole idea of , like , ‘ If you don ’ t write the song yourself , it ’ s not really your music , but I don ’ t fucking believe in that ,” he says bluntly – somehow managing to make even profanity sound endearing . “ When I wrote alone , there ’ s always a voice in my head saying , ‘ Do this ; don ’ t do that ,’ but when I ’ m writing with other people , it ’ s more of just that artist side that can come out purely .”
The artist believes the biggest difference between the material comprising Augusta and that on Hôtel de Ville isn ’ t a musical one . “ I think I got a lot more comfortable as a lyricist ,” he muses .
Whereas Augusta was something of a tribute to his longtime hometown of Toronto ( Augusta Avenue passes right through Kensington Market , a distinctive and diverse neighbourhood in the city ’ s downtown ), Hôtel de Ville instead pays homage to his temporarily adopted home of Montreal and his experiences there , with the aptly-titled opener “ Intro ” making specific references to its stunning city hall and Mount Royal ’ s iconic cross .
“ A lot of it has to do with the fact that I fell in love and went there to start a relationship with someone ,” Helman offers , “ but the sounds and sights of Montreal definitely inspired me .”
As a writer , Helman admits he relies more heavily on personal experience than general or conceptual ideas for lyrics . On Augusta , which dropped shortly after his 19 th birthday , he was largely drawing on typical teenaged experiences and emotions . But in the subsequent years of supporting that release with a consistently rising stock , his pool of reference for Hôtel de Ville is markedly different .
“ When you ’ re younger and making your first artistic statement , I think there ’ s this weird pressure – and not that it goes away – but it ’ s different ,” the artist muses . “ It ’ s way more visceral and more present when you ’ re younger , like , who am I going to be ? Who am I going to be compared to ?”
But in recent years , he ’ s had the chance to tour the world , and do so from the very unique perspective of a burgeoning pop star . “ The more I saw , the more I realized the universal stuff is what I liked ,” he says . “ I didn ’ t really care to watch a dude in a leather jacket being interviewed anymore . It ’ s like , what do we all care about as a world , as a group ? What ’ s interesting and important to all of us ?”
And that idea extends beyond just Helman ’ s musical output . Despite his James Dean-level swagger , his rebellious inner rockstar does have a cause . A couple of years ago , he founded Solve the Solvable – an initiative that invites his fans to take action of any scale to help make the world a better place .
“ Musicians with a voice have a responsibility to do more with it than just make music ,” he offers .
His mini-manifesto on the project ’ s landing page explains the idea well . In a nutshell , it invites fans to do “ something good , no matter how big or small ,” and share it with a post on the site . Then , others are invited to comment on the idea or , better yet , build on it .
There ’ s a video on the page of Helman visiting students at Monsignor O ’ Donogue Elementary School in Peterborough , ON , who ’ ve taken part . In it , Helman explains : “ I just put up a forum for people to talk about the issues that matter to them . Someone put up something about multiple sclerosis , which is a disease of the brain . My grandma actually had that , and when they put up that post , other people would write on it and go , ‘ Wow , I didn ’ t know about this issue ,’ And that
36 [ •] CANADIAN • MUSICIAN