A dreamy reverie basking in the glow of intimate connection, Leif Vollebekk’s “Peace of Mind (Evening)” is sweet bliss channeled into soul-stirring sound.
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“Peace of Mind (Evening)” – Leif Vollebekk
I can’t help but listen to Leif Vollebekk’s latest single with a big smile on my face – because that’s what this song is: Sweet bliss channeled into soul-stirring sound.
The latest single off the Canadian singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s forthcoming fifth studio album Revelation (due out September 27 via Secret City Records), “Peace of Mind (Evening)” is a dreamy reverie basking in the glow of intimate connection; of the kind of nirvana, tranquility, and serenity that comes mostly in bits and spurts, fleeting glimpses and passing glances.
Driving around looking for action
Mountain range come into view
The colours they change
With the sun and the rain
Maybe now I’m different too
Last night I prayed for direction
This morning when it showed
I didn’t hold on
Now baby it’s gone
You tell me now that’s just how it goes
You give me peace of mind
You give me peace of mind
And to make matters all the more interesting, this version of the song won’t even appear on Vollebekk’s upcoming album; rather, he wanted this song, the way it sounds here, today, to live on its own as an escape and indulgence.
“This is the ‘evening version’ of ‘Peace of Mind,’” Vollebekk tells Atwood Magazine. “This version isn’t even on the record. It just wanted to be its own thing. It wanted drums off the top. It wanted to have jangly guitars and 80s synthesizers. I suppose I wanted it to remind me of the bliss I feel when a great song comes on the radio on a late-night drive. Considering the title, it’s rather ironic that I’ve spent more time recording this song than any other. I’ve recorded 4 or 5 different versions of this song. The latest, called ‘Peace of Mind (Evening),’ is the version that seems to include everything I’ve loved from each version that came before, including the vocal-heavy album version. I suppose it’s testament to how much the song means to me.”
“Singing this song, it just kind of sets me free,” he adds. “The melody came along fully formed right after I’d spent a few weeks’ vacation with my family. I rediscovered my solitude for the first time in a while. And, in the stillness, I sang about them. I dreamt a child placed a dandelion on my grave. For some reason, I awoke incredibly peaceful. What does that mean?”
Honey, you make it look easy
Floating above the world
When you least expect it
Your body electric
Brings you back to that little girl
Running through the streets of the village
Talking to strangers on high
98 in the shade
For this you were made
But my northern blood was begging to fly
You give me peace of mind
You give me peace of mind
An artist I once proudly crowned “the songwriter’s songwriter,” Leif Vollebekk is a singular creative visionary on the verge of realizing his raison d’être – or at the very least, his magnum opus to date.
Brought to life in the stillness and silence of the pandemic, Revelation is years in the making, the product of dreams manifested and ambition tested to its limits. It’s a captivating, all-consuming, expansive, and deeply expressive work of art that finds Vollebekk the singer, Vollebekk the songwriter, Vollebekk the musician, Vollebekk the producer, and Vollebekk the architect all working in sync and on hyperdrive.
Intimate and enchanting, “Peace of Mind (Evening)” is a glimpse into the world he’s created on what will surely be one of 2024’s most beautiful albums.
Blood in the river turnin’ to dust
Who will deliver the two of us?
I wonder if I’m crazy to want this
Wandering from town to town
What if my purpose is deserting the circus
Honey, would you follow a clown?
I dreamed I attended my funeral
Children playing in the rain
A dandelion placed over my face
And I’ll never be the same again
You give me peace of mind
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“Peace of Mind (Evening)” – Leif Vollebekk
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© Nicholas Sutton Bell
© Nicholas Sutton Bell
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