Canadian singer/songwriter Craig Robertson has been releasing solo albums for ten years, and during that time he’s released six records. Robertson’s latest collection, Running The Other Way, will arrive on September 20, 2024. For this collection, Robertson explored “complex personal territory,” but each song is “set against the backdrop of Canada’s vast landscape.”

The album’s first single, “New Brunswick By Noon,” is out now, a travelogue with deep personal meaning for Robertson.

He shares:

I really love how that song turned out. My family’s roots are in New Brunswick and I’ve done a lot of driving to the east coast. I tried to convey a sense of traveling in that part of the country in the overall vibe.

Robertson is now makes his home in Cambridge, Ontario, where he recorded Running The Other Way with the aid of his longtime bassist Jeff Dunk, multi-instrumentalist James McKie (formerly of Jerry Leger’s band The Situation), guitarists Andrew Barker and Ken Yoshioka, with Constantina Stehlik adding backing vocals.

It also features horn parts arranged by Sabatino Vacca, conductor of the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, with the final mix done by Robertson’s collaborator James McKenty (Blue Rodeo, Cuff The Duke, Matthew Barber).

Having the luxury of working on his own timetable allowed Robertson to explore more artistic angles on Running The Other Way.

He comments:

I feel like I’ve hit a stride I haven’t hit before. I released two albums during the pandemic and that helped me hone my creative process, my writing, and how to put it all together at my studio. This album sounds more like me than any other project I’ve done.

As a staunch R.E.M. fan, Robertson’s “musical vision” for Running The Other Way may be described as his “Out Of Time/Automatic For The People era,” where incorporating acoustic instruments in an “alternative rock” context is the predominant theme.