In late May, I featured the poignant song “Better Daze” by Canadian alt-rock act Western Jaguar, the music project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Trainor, on one of my Fresh New Tracks posts. Though I generally prefer to not write about an artist or band again so soon, I like his new album Oblivion so much that I just have to share it with my readers. Besides, I know the album means a lot to him, marking a return to making music after a two-year hiatus during which he’d all but given up on it, so it means a lot to me too.

Hailing from the picturesque Fraser River Valley of British Columbia east of Vancouver, Western Jaguar was born in 2012 when Trainor turned to music to get him out of a low point in his life. With the help of an evolving lineup of musicians, he released three stellar EPs and several singles between 2013 and 2019, including the excellent “Disappear”, which went to #1 on my Weekly Top 30 in 2019. Despite his prior accomplishments, when the pandemic hit in early 2020, bringing things to a halt for just about every musician and band, the social isolation allowed him to reflect on how unhappy he’d become as a musician. He says he’d become fixated on “likes, a following, positive feedback…and making music other people liked.” By the end of 2020, he decided he didn’t want to make music anymore, essentially walking away from Western Jaguar, which he conveniently blamed on the pandemic.

Thankfully, after a long break he came to realize that, just like in 2012, music could once again lift him out of his slump. He decided to restart Western Jaguar as essentially a solo act and went to work resurrecting a few previously-written songs and writing and recording new ones for what would become his latest album Oblivion, which he released on July 7th. For the recording of the album, Trainor sang vocals and played most instruments, though his former Western Jaguar bandmates Davis MacKenzie Zand played bass and AJ Buckley played electric guitar and drums, and sang backing vocals on two tracks, and musician KC Roces played electric guitar on “Daydreaming”. Trainor produced and mixed two of the tracks, with the rest produced and mixed by Zand, and mastering was done by Jordan Koop.

The album opens appropriately with “Start Again“, a lovely 57-second-long instrumental piece with guitar and gentle synths that serves as an intro to the bittersweet song “Milwaukee“. The instrumentals gradually build with the addition of beautiful jangly guitars, organ, swirling synths and spirited drums, turning the song into an arresting anthem by the final chorus. Most of the songs on Oblivion deal with aspects of love and loss, and “Milwaukee” touches on both, as expressed in the lyrics “Now my patience is strained, and my love has gone away. There’s nothing left of me, and I’m out on the streets of Milwaukee.“

Continuing on a similar theme, “Matador” speaks to regrets over allowing a love to slip through his fingers, and willing to do anything to get her back: “I loved her with all of me, you better believe that I had hoped to one day get down on my knee. But I was dumb and she left me, you better believe that I would do anything. I’d bury my heart in the depths of hell. Drive my car at the speed of sound. Get bucked off a bronco’s back just to have a chance at bringing you back.”

Like “Matador”, “Doomsday” was actually recorded pre-pandemic by the previous Western Jaguar lineup that included Davis MacKenzie Zand on bass and AJ Buckley on guitar and drums. Originally slated for release in June 2020, the song features fantastic watery guitar work by Buckley, while he and Zand keep the rhythm on solid footing with their masterful drumming and thumping bassline. The lyrics are directed to a lover who’s abandoned the relationship, despite the singer’s attempts at redemption, which Trainor sings with heartfelt conviction: “You packed it up and left while I was trying to make amends. This is something I won’t forget, though I still don’t comprehend.“

“Better Daze“ is a melancholy but pleasing song about going through hard times after a tragedy and trying to get back to better days. Musically, the song has an upbeat dream pop feel, with a breezy melody, beautiful chiming guitars and snappy drums that contrast with the darker subject matter. Trainor’s clear, pleasing vocals have a hint of sadness as he sings the lyrics telling a story about a woman named Suzie, whose fiance Harold died suddenly after a fall in the shower just before they were due to be married. Suzie falls into a deep depression, and with the best of intentions, her father insists she take medication to help improve her mood. Unfortunately, the drugs only make her feel worse: “Suzie’s felt worse since the medicine. Her lungs are burning and she can’t breath in. Her father insists on the vice, it’s the only way for a normal life. But a normal life was lost last June when Harold fell in the bathroom. She hasn’t taken them for 6 weeks. If only it was that easy. Her father asks if she’s feeling well. She gives him a smile though she feels like hell. She wants him to think that she’s okay, even though she’s thinking of better daze.”

On the beautiful and bittersweet “Daydreaming“, Trainor laments of a love that wasn’t meant to be, due to his partner’s emotional struggles and inability to commit to the relationship: “There was a time for us to move into oblivion. But you were daydreaming, just lost in your mind, leaving me behind.” The gorgeous shimmery guitars are played by KC Roces.

Though most of the songs on Oblivion deal with loss, Trainor is in fact a happily-married man, which he celebrates on the sweet love song “Darling“. Calling it the poppiest song he’s ever written, it’s definitely the most upbeat track on the album, with a bouncy melody, sunny guitar lines, plucky bass, cheerful xylophone and exuberant hand claps. The charming lyrics express the love he feels for his wife: “I’ve been waiting all my life for you, my lovely darling. I’ve been waiting all my life I’d say, it’s worth it darling. And I know you don’t prescribe to lovesick lullabies.”

Trainor turns philosophical on “Just Racing“, contemplating the rapid passage of time and the attendant challenges of making sense of the never-ending barrage of information and changes thrown at us: “It’s all moving way too fast. It’s not too much to ask, just slow it down so I can breathe. Help me take apart my enemies. / So won’t you pick me up and take me home. I’m only 25 but I feel so old. Caught up again in the cracks of my brain, racing to the end like a bullet train.” Musically, the song has a languid, introspective feel, featuring just his strummed acoustic guitar, backed by a lovely organ synth.

Similar to the opening track “Starting Again”, Oblivion closes with a simple but stunning atmospheric instrumental composition “Phases“. Consisting of a delicate piano movement accompanied by airy synths, the track nicely brings this outstanding album full circle. Trainor’s a talented, earnest and thoughtful guy, and I’m happy he resurrected Western Jaguar and gifted us with these deeply moving songs. It’s a triumphant return, and I hope we’ll continue to hear more from him in the future.

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