Normally, when an artist writes a song about the sudden and unexpected death of her mother and titles it “3 Sisters,” you can logically assume she’s paying tribute to the brave, bereaved children who have been left behind. But Canadian roots icon Lori Yates is up to something more personal and metaphorical on her latest single: The sisters she’s referencing here are the feelings of danger, heartache and sorrow that swoop down like vultures in the wake of life’s greatest losses. And her message to them—delivered one-by-one and with equal vehemence—is that she’d really like them to go.
Oh danger, don’t you call out my name
Cause I won’t answer like I did
When I was just a skinny kid …
Oh, heartache, don’t you weigh in on me
Cause you keep knock knocking at my door
but you’re not welcome here anymore …
Oh, sorrow, it’s time you set me free
I’m not strong enough to sing the blues
I’ve suffered enough; haven’t I paid my dues?
Channeling her Irish roots to heart-rending effect, Yates positively keens the deeply wounded sentiments, admonishing her trio of tormentors like they’re the wicked stepsisters from Cinderella (or perhaps some particularly antisocial rejects from the cast of Inside Out 2, if we want to keep our Disney similes current.)
“3 Sisters” is the latest release from Yates’ eighth and most recent album, Matador, and it’s of a piece with that record’s theme of working through grief. The album was written and recorded at a time when Yates was reeling from the death of not only her mother but her stepfather as well. And just to rub salt into the wound, the project was also haunted by the passing of two guitarists she had cherished working with: Brian Griffith and David Gavan Baxter (the latter of whom even appears on Matador, in what may have been his final recorded performances).
The album’s nine songs reflect that period of anguish, albeit with a palpable undercurrent of hope and perseverance. Tracks like “Alive,” “Cowboy” and “Magdalena” rub shoulders with the nostalgic title track, a fond farewell to the like-named Toronto after-hours club that was a haven for Yates and her fellow musos. (It’s the establishment depicted in Leonard Cohen’s video “Closing Time.”) There’s also a re-recording of “Time After Time,” a Yates co-write with legendary songsmith Guy Clark that originally appeared on her 1988 album, Can’t Stop the Girl.
Taken in toto, Matador shows why Yates is such a beloved pioneer of Canadian alt-country. You could call her the nation’s answer to Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris and Patti Griffith—although the thrust of her material equally marks her as an attitudinal hybrid of Johnny Cash, Joan Jett and Lucille Ball. Any way you parse it, though, it comes out sounding great.
“[Matador is] a beautifully crafted work, ringing with the true spirit of country— sorrow, heartache, danger and redemption,” says Graham Rockingham of the Hamilton Spectator. Grammy-winning professor of musicology Rob Bowman is just as effusive: “Matador is, so far, my favourite album of the year.”
And it’s steeped in the culture of Toronto, where Yates finally moved full-time in 2023 after two decades in Hamilton. Co-produced by the Rheostatics’ Tim Vesely, the album was recorded at Blue Rodeo’s studio, The Woodshed, with a cast of backing players that reads like a who’s who of Yates’ peers and partners from the local scene: Bazil Donovan, Jimmy Bowskill, Michelle Josef and of course the now-departed Baxter. The heavy presence in the mix of piano and organ by Steve O’Connor lends an exciting new dimension to her trademark sound.
This is Yates’ fifth independent recording after stints on major labels like Virgin Music Canada and Columbia Records Nashville; her brief attempt at making her name in “Music City USA,” she admits, just wasn’t a good fit. But that interlude is increasingly just a blip in a pedigreed career that’s included tenures in bands like the Last Resorts and Rang Tango (and more recently, the roots supergroup Hey Stella), in addition to her sterling solo forays. Over the years, Yates shared stages and studios with the likes of Roky Erickson, Rick Danko, Colin Linden and Jim Cuddy, and performed duets with Tom Wilson and Greg Allman. Her work as a singer and songwriter has gotten her nominated for a JUNO, a Canadian Country Music Award, a Polaris Prize (Longer List) Award and two Lifetime Achievement Awards and won her the titles of Alternative Country Recording of the Year and Songwriter of the Year in the Hamilton Music Awards. And in the kind of honor that truly stands the test of time, the lyrics to her song “Angels with Bloody Knees” are permanently enshrined in Hamilton’s Gore Park.
Adding another chapter to her already voluminous legacy, Yates has some upcoming shows booked that’ll reinforce her ties to Toronto. Dates are as follows:
July 26 – Motel
Aug. 21 – Burdock
Aug. 30 – Motel
Oct. 3 – Cameron House
Nov. 7 – Hugh’s Room
If the reaction from the crowd is anywhere near the kudos Matador has been earning since the day it dropped, it’ll be time to declare the mourning period officially over. Tell the “3 Sisters” to depart forever from Yates’ door because she’s earned it.
