edmonton art-folk band f&m released their latest recording, every light must fade on november fourteenth this past year which has made it's way into my little post box down the street.   it is a conceptual album and art project between the band and local artist/entrepreneur glen ronald of deadwear, to which they explore through their various mediums the inevitability of death and thus the celebration and appreciation for what is here and now.  "every light must fade is a catalyst for thought, reflection and for taking the listener into a realm of unexplored ideas of the joy of loss" writes rebecca anderson.  "we want listeners to see death as a filter through which life can be celebrated."  the album plays on these emotional plains, yet lyrically the songs sometimes take on a satirical stance.  "and those tears could fill a glass but the glass is no good 'cause i can't turn it to wine" ends the second track shrug it off.  the album plays just under an hour over thirteen cuts that weave and shear their way through the listener, evoking raw feeling and rounding you in with songs genuinely crafted.  they have a sound that has been described as natalie merchant sipping bordeaux with leonard cohen in a group home run by nick cave.  this album is a follow up to the two-thousand and seven release let every light shine.

every light must fade is a body of work that matures with each play... each song strengthens and nuances shed skins with each listen.  it is a piece of work that lays amidst the things we think we know.  it brings you closer, and we see and hear and feel this world all around us.  to it, it shines and through it there is a world of wonder yet it lives and breathes and gives our souls their beauty.   every light must indeed fade.  (see track eleven, passchendele 1917)

here's the opening/title track every light must fade.

here’s a live on the beach version of the track shrug it off.

if you are so inclined, check out a short documentary here by a friend of the band.  (f&m also appear musically in the film playing a canadian classic that anyone twenty-five or older should be able to sing along to)

deadwear has also introduced a clothing line in the key of every light must fade, through the mutual inspiration each drew from each other in creating their art. 

the sites:   home, space, label