Le Ren – “Dyan”Le Ren – “Dyan”

Lauren Spear, the Montreal singer-songwriter who records as Le Ren, makes a warm and expansive kind of folk music that’s both vulnerable and elaborate. Le Ren released an impressive EP called Morning & Melancholia last year, and she’s just announced plans for Leftovers, the debut album that’s coming out in October. If its first single is any indication, this should be some pretty great fall music.

Le Ren recorded Leftovers in a rented Portland house with producer Chris Cohen, the former Deerhoof member who’s collaborated with Weyes Blood and who also releases his own lush solo music. The album also includes remote contributions from people like Big Thief’s Buck Meek. First single “Dyan” is a heartfelt dedication to Spear’s mother. Talking about the song, she says:

My intention was to try to describe the way I feel eternally connected to my mother while living far away from her, especially during the pandemic when distance feels bigger than it did before. I’m constantly reminded of her love — in seeing the sky turn a certain shade of blue, in silver-grey hair, in the music I make and listen to because of her. I also recognize her in the way I speak and how I process certain emotions.

That’s so nice! Watch director Ali Vanderkruyk‘s “Dyan” video below.

Leftovers is out 10/15 on Secretly Canadian.