We all have those artists and songs we hear that strike the right chord and make us fall in love at first listen. They’re the reason we refresh social media pages, tour schedules, and Spotify profiles — because we can’t miss a single release. This is Love at First Listen — a new series introducing you to the emerging, and established, artists with new music guaranteed to upgrade your playlist.
Canadian singer Royal Wood may not know what tomorrow brings, but he’s perfectly happy living in the moment—especially after two years of not being able to release music or perform for his dedicated fans. Out today, his eighth studio album, ‘What Tomorrow Brings,’ is an open book that touches on themes relatable to every listener, from navigating the chaos of uncertainty to leaning on your loved ones and finding the fortune in misfortune.
If that wasn’t enough to celebrate, Royal Wood just wrapped a brief Canadian tour that concluded with a hometown show at Toronto’s iconic Massey Hall and released a mini documentary, What Tomorrow Brings: Behind The Album, that goes behind the scenes of one of his proudest projects to date. It seems like everything’s worked its way up to this point, yet it’s truly just the beginning.
For this edition of Love at First Listen, I sat down with Royal Wood hours before he stepped on stage at Massey Hall to talk about today’s album release, documenting the stories behind the songs, and what tomorrow really brings.
Between headlining Massey Hall and releasing ‘What Tomorrow Brings,’ how does it feel to have all these major milestones happening at once?
It feels like the right time—and about time. My wife and I had two children during the pandemic and we now live in the country, so our whole lives had this massive paradigm shift. Recently, there’s been a subtle voice in the back of my brain saying something’s missing. As much as I have everything, it’s not everything. To be back playing shows with the band, putting out new music, and scratching that itch, I’ve got all the pieces back!
What inspired you to have cameras document the stories behind the songs with What Tomorrow Brings: Behind The Album?
I wish I’d done that kind of stuff earlier. I’m very fortunate and blessed with the producers, musicians, and studios I’ve worked with over the years and, other than a couple of Polaroids and a few snapshots on a phone, we haven’t captured things because we were too busy doing them. I don’t know how many albums I have in me—no one ever does—but I love this part of my life. So, even just to show our sons one day and say, “This is what daddy did when you guys were babies,” it felt like it was the right time.
In the documentary, you reveal the album was almost ready to go before the pandemic, but you waited to be able to tour and properly celebrate its release. How did that end goal impact the way you revisited the songs you wrote pre-pandemic?
I was in the UK finishing up the last couple songs as the pandemic was happening. My wife was texting me photos showing no groceries and no toilet paper in our grocery store, so I got on a plane, came home, and then all the chaos started. For the first time in my life, I didn’t have any shows coming up and I didn’t want to put out this record without a chance to perform it and celebrate all the pieces that come with it—even just sitting here with somebody to talk about it. I started listening back in a Leonard Cohen kind of way, examining every lyric, line, and melody. I emerged with an album I think is one of my best. There’s one song I completely dropped because I realized I’d done it so many times before, and then I ended up writing a new song called “Because of You.” So, I really got to wrap this album up in a perfect little bow.
You also specifically call out the Massey Hall show in the documentary. What does this venue mean to you?
I remember my first show here at Massey Hall, my drummer, who was also my English teacher in high school (shout out Mr. Milner), took me to see Lou Reed. I’d been to little theatres and shows before with my dad, but I’d never seen a venue like this. At that moment, I said to myself, “I’m going to headline here.” I did it for the first time in 2018, and then I also recorded a live record, ‘Royal Wood (Live at Massey Hall).’ To be back, knowing that I got to be one of the last artists to perform here before the renovations and say goodbye to the old Massey, feels amazing.
As the album title suggests, you may not know what tomorrow brings, but can you tease anything you have in the works for 2023?
I’m working on an instrumental record, a collection of B-Sides, and an alternate acoustic version of ‘What Tomorrow Brings.’ I’m also finally going to start chipping away at a Christmas record. So, there’s a lot of recording and then the doors are open to tour again. I have Western Canada, Eastern Canada, and a bunch of stuff in the States coming up, so it will be busy. But for anyone coming to the shows, I hope they come away having seen five musicians playing music together that not only love the music but love each other. We missed the camaraderie and the laughs and hanging backstage and offstage again is just as good as being onstage.
Do you want to shout out any of your Canadian peers whose music you’ve loved at first listen?
My current one to watch is Tim Baker. I’ve known him for years since we broke together and followed each other’s careers, but his new record is so stunning. Also, Mathew V, who just toured with us, is amazing. He so deserved his JUNO nomination and I’ve never had an opener before get standing ovations every night like he does. Him and his band members helped us set up and tear down each night and that shows he’s just a good Canadian kid.
