Megan Nash Visits Memory Lane On Hazy New Single “Artifacts”
Calling central Saskatchewan home, the influence and nature of the prairies remain a part of every song Megan Nash pens. Her 2017 Juno-nominated album Seeker marked her introduction onto the music scene, and her latest release
“Artifacts” builds on that strong foundation.
Accompanied by instrumentation from her familiar backup outfit, The Best of Intentions, “Artifacts” explores the discovery of a familiarity from a past version of yourself. The song is a poem to a memory, and as someone who spends far too much reminiscing and cataloguing her own memories, there’s an overwhelming familiarity to the lyrics. Listeners who find warmth in looking back – on the good, the bad, and the ugly – are likely to feel the same sense of warmth from a song that has sadness at its root. The earthiness of Nash’s voice matches perfectly with her lyrics, filled with imagery of nature and telling the story of her own trips down memory lane.
In her own words, Nash says that “‘Artifact’ is a song about discovering fragments of your former life.” That train of thought is easily disseminated, with lyrics like “When I find a note made by your hand/ it’s ancient scroll an artifact” introducing the story in the first verse and capturing how that kind of discovery “can be a punch in the stomach” as the song progresses. Filled with comparisons to nature, Nash explains that it’s a reminder of how “when something you love gets neglected, it can fall apart right in front of you,” like the environment and the climate crisis.
Mining loss, heartache, grief and desire over lush soundscapes, expect to hear a similar sound in releases to follow. “I love sad songs, and how they can remind us that we aren’t alone in the painful experiences,” says Nash. “If this song can remind someone of that, that pain is the sacrifice we all make for knowing love, then it’s done its job.”
Staying connected with fans during the current pandemic, Nash has been playing drive-ins and taking part in the virtual show trend. Though understandably eager to get back out on the road, you’ll have to take in “Artifact” below for now.
