When it comes to Winnipeg’s music scene, the first quarter of 2010 belongs to literate rockers with activist roots.

In January, The Paperbacks released their double CD Lit From Within. Next month will see the release of Greg MacPherson’s new disc, Mr. Invitation.

And this Friday, Feb. 12, it’s Ian La Rue’s turn.

The veteran singer-songwriter will release A History of Layers at the West End Cultural Centre. It’s his fourth release and first with new band The Condor, a group rounded out by guitarist Andrew Workman, bassist Louis Levèsque Coté and drummer Matt Magura.

Over drinks at a Corydon Avenue bar last week, La Rue and Magura described the making of A History of Layers as “a journey of patience and reward.” Recorded at MCM Studio with engineer Mike Petkau, who co-produced the disc and handled bass duties, the nine-song CD took 18 months to complete mostly due to financial reasons.

That was fine with the band, though.

“We felt that if the songs are good, we could wait and give the record the time it needed,” La Rue said. “This is the best stuff I’ve ever done.”

Workman, Levèsque Coté and Magura fill out La Rue’s sound while still retaining the raw urgency and experimentation that marked his earlier recordings.

A History of Layers also marks a lyrical shift for La Rue, who says his focus has turned from the political to the personal.

“I used to write lyrically about world issues or things in the world I felt moved by,” he explained. “There was a turning point where I began seeing that I can write about stuff happening to me or in my own community, and that can be just as important, or more important, than writing about world issues.

“Instead of writing about someone else’s fears, I can write about my own.”

The undercurrents of fear and despair that mark modern urban life figure prominently in the lyrics on A History of Layers, but always alongside a search for solutions and ways to move forward.

“Life is essentially about struggle and triumph – it is for me, anyway,” La Rue said. “It’s about just being ultra honest and sincere, and not being afraid to say, I’m really fucked up, or I get depressed.

“It’s OK to have a bad day – everyone has them. But you’ve got to work through it. Really owning it is the way to get past it, and that’s what music is to me: owning and embracing it, and then moving on.”

While the music may come from a place of sadness or struggle, the band is looking forward to playing upbeat live shows at the West End and on tour in February and April.

“I think we’ve only played four shows since going into the studio,” Magura said. “That definitely lends itself to the anticipation of rocking out at the CD release show.”

Ultimately, La Rue adds, the band isn’t about being ultra-rehearsed and playing note-perfect. It’s about having fun and expressing their mutual love for music.

“We’re definitely friends before we’re bandmates,” he said. “I’m super thankful for that.”

Published in Volume 64, Number 19 of The Uniter (February 11, 2010)