Fireweed Track-By-Track Breakdown

1. Cast Your Vote

This is kind of a ‘straight down the middle’ Kevin Murphy song and when I pitched it as a possibility for the album, I wasn’t sure it would make the cut. But Chuck and Adam (who produced Fireweed) liked the energy of it, and by the time we had the basic tracks down, it was clear it was going to be an integral part of the album. Chuck wrote the bass lines on the spot and once Adam added the piano melody to the intro, it felt like the perfect way to kick off the record.

2. Remains

The opening lyric in "Remains" was originally written about a 7-Eleven blueberry fritter, but somehow the song became one of the most deeply personal things I have ever written. In a lot of ways, it’s an attempt to sum up who I am, including my own inherent inability to do so.

3. Responsibility & Consequence

This song is what happens when Chuck Coles tells me he wants to make a record with me, and doesn’t want it to suck, so I’d better go home and write the best song I’ve ever written (I may be paraphrasing slightly). I wrote "Responsibility & Consequence" that night and the majority of the album in the following weeks. Without that spark, Fireweed would be a much different record.

4. Controlled Burn

The title of the album is taken from a lyric in "Controlled Burn", "We may find our way back here, bright and unfamiliar, as fireweed spreads rapidly across the hill here." We are all capable of creating constant incremental change on both the personal and social levels that can amount to incredible transformation over time. If we never stop pushing to be the best versions of ourselves and holding others accountable to do the same, we can achieve things that don’t yet seem possible.

5. A Stronger Sun

Some people say I don’t write love songs. Bullshit.

6. In Our Places

"In Our Places" is much more lyrically sparse than the songs I typically write, but it felt like a complete thought so I stopped writing. The folks with all the wealth and power want us at each other’s throats to keep us from realizing they are our common enemy. It’s not complicated and I’m far from the first person to say it, but here we still are.

7. Talk

I wrote this song on a secluded Prince Edward Island beach while I was enjoying the ocean breeze and thinking about how some people need to shut the fuck up.

8. Friend of Mine

Raha Javanfar is the real star of this song. Her fiddle playing is insane and the multi-layered solos add an element of frantic chaos that complements the lyrics perfectly. The total vibe change mid-song from chaotic folk-punk banger to punk rock epic is one of my favourite moments on the album. There is not another track on Fireweed that’s more fun to listen to.

9. Abort

"Abort" was released as a single in March of 2023 and it had already been through some rewrites. It was initially about regressive state-level policies on the bodily autonomy of folks with uteruses in places like Texas. Then the US Supreme Court went and overturned Roe v. Wade and forced me to make a few changes. That’s actually pretty rude of them when you think about it. I’m kind of sick of playing it, so let’s hope they cut me some slack and start giving a shit about reproductive rights.

10. Counting Days

Ever find yourself waiting for someone to show some semblance of remorse for their actions or desire to do better, only to be thoroughly let down?

11. Catch Your Breath

This is a song about the vital importance of community, art, and the intersection of the two. Having a place to share expressions of our thoughts and feelings, see others do the same, and relate to each other through those expressions, even if we are creating very different art and expressing very different ideas. This one goes out to anyone who has ever hosted an open mic or community event that allowed people to freely share their art with each other in a safe, supportive space. I don’t know what my life would look like if I had never found spaces like that.

12. Wreckage

I wrote this song in early 2022 and then pretty quickly stopped playing it live because I never felt it worked that well as an acoustic tune. Giving it the full band treatment on this recording reminded me how much I actually like it. I also had a lot of fun writing/recording the bass lines on this one.

13. Feeding Demons

"Feeding Demons" encompasses the major themes of this album so completely that it could only be the closing track. It is about the effort required to be a decent person in a culture that values and encourages the worst parts of what it is to be human. It’s also a 6-minute epic with a slow build and a massive payoff.