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Music by FFWD Staff Sarah Harmer Tuesday, May 16 The Liberty Lounge (MRC) For every polyester floral tie, elementary school-made ashtray (hey, it was the ’70s) and last-minute owl/dog/dolphin sculpture – Dad, I’m sorry. I’ve seen the error of my ways and the thoughtlessness of my Christmas gifts, and we both have Sarah Harmer to thank for it. Almost two years ago, the vocalist from Kingston, Ontario alterna rock band Weeping Tile made what she thought would be a nice little personalized stocking-stuffer for her father, Clem – a back-porch recorded disc of country and jazz standards called, non-coincidentally, Songs For Clem. Thankfully, friends who heard the recording encouraged Sarah to release it as a nice little personalized indie album for what she assumed would be only a handful of people. Today, Songs for Clem is considered a nice little personalized masterpiece and one of the best Canadian albums released in the past five years. So much for that Crown Royal next year, Pops. "Actually," laughs Harmer, "my dad probably would have preferred the bottle." Doubtful. For however high the proof percentage might be on the bottled contents, it would be nowhere near as intoxicating as Sarah’s offering. The simplicity, the honesty, the intimacy of Songs for Clem is startling in a medium that equates accessibility with distance. "For me, the simpler it is, the better it is," Harmer says. It’s those same traits she now brings to her first official solo album, You Were Here, a rootsy pop album so good that it will make you forget any other singing Sarah this country has to offer. The 12-track CD, which is much more filled out instrumentally than Clem, is absolutely haunted by Harmer’s alternately forlorn and carefree vocal accompaniment. The songs themselves range from the smile-on-your-face-all-day opener, "Around This Corner", to the wilted and weary "Capsized" – yet all sound as though they contain the essence of the songwriter. Deeply personal is something that even extends to how the album is being distributed – You Were Here is currently only available through Harmer at gigs and off her Web site (www.sarahharmer.com). Invoking The Artist’s sentiments, she’s guarded about letting others come between herself, her work and her audience. "I’m trying to work it out so that I can have my cake and eat it too," she says. "I like the independent route, (but) I’m also trying to get distribution and promotional support and just keep building it up. "I’m trying to piece it all together, but I’m really enjoying the direct approach of being my own little label right now.... I’m a bit wary of the larger systems that are in place for records right now." Though not connected to one incident in particular, Harmer’s wariness stems from Weeping Tile’s major label deal with Warner Music, which ended abruptly after three albums. Not surprising considering that the band, while still fronted by Harmer’s unmistakable pipes, have an edge that kept mainstream success at bay. But thankfully, the demise of the deal wasn’t the final nail in the band’s coffin. Harmer, still great friends with everyone in the band, considers the project "dormant," an alter-ego that she hopes to return to when she’s ready for a break from herself. "Weeping Tile sounds the way it does because of everyone’s influence and it’s more inspired by my love of college rock ’n’ roll and bands that are scrappier and I think that I’ll probably want to do that again," she says. "We’re definitely not dead."

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