Since debuting with the cinematic folk-rock suite Living Parts in 2014, Skye Wallace has pondered life and death through her music. They references these natural experiences as they contemplate existential questions, stares down their critics and self-doubt so they can live their fullest, truest life and draws upon history to weave rich narratives bridging the voices of the past with those of the present. On their fifth album, The Act of Living, co-produced with Hawksley Workman, they continue to discover truisms about mortality. With a new acceptance of life's inevitabilities, they shares their epiphanies in the form of their most charged, grandiose songs to date.
By 2022's Terribly Good, Wallace leaned pretty much full tilt into rock 'n' roll. But the violins and ambient textures that were so elemental on Living Parts make their sweeping return on The Act of Living. Like Living Parts, "Round Round Round" and "Before the Afterlife" conjure vast hills and open plains. But the key difference is the latter's large drops of warped synth notes, just one example of The Act of Living's more adventurous exploration of synthetic tones. "On Your Way" begins as vintage floating electro-pop with multiple robust synth lines before the wistful drumless song culminates with unexpected violin, a rare but captivating combo.
The Act of Living also boasts plenty of grit, harkening the impassioned anthems that galloped buckwild all through 2016's Something Wicked, their 2019 self-titled, and Terribly Good. Built on a foundation of acoustic strums (a rarity on The Act of Living) that erupts in massive electric rock choruses, "You Don't Still Have a Hold on Me" is an unfettered, uncomplicated should-be-hit that wouldn't have sounded out of place on an episode of MuchMusic Countdown. "Momentum" is pummeling, runaway garage rock with a buzzing guitar riff and dug-in bass line. The snarling "Tough Kid" swaggers with the attitude of PJ Harvey. "The act of living is a dangerous game," Wallace sings on the title track which whips and snaps like a sail in the wind.
Elsewhere on The Act of Living, Wallace's electronic leanings veer towards dance-punk. "Dead End," featuring Workman on drums and Ryan Dahle of Limblifter, Age of Electric, and Mounties on guitar, is a nocturnal groove-heavy epic. "Blood!" pumps along with rattling percussion including tambourine. Both songs also stand out as vocal experiments. Wallace pushes her powerful, dynamic voice to new heights in pitch, matching the songs' fervour.
"Maybe I'll always be picking up the pieces," a resigned Wallace sings on "You Don't Still Have a Hold on Me." It's true that sometimes you can't outrun your past. But as they've figured out, instead of letting it haunt you, you can learn from it to shape a better future for yourself. Accustomed to a nomadic life as a touring musician and having grown up in a family that moved from Ontario to British Columbia's Sunshine Coast, then later to Vancouver, Wallace's music has always evoked a yearning for stability. Their body of work is a travelogue of their ongoing search for a sense of comfort, if not home. In accepting truths about life and death, they've found respite, one step closer to their ultimate destination.