Shaela Miller’s years spent doing good country music work are safely etched into public consciousness. A turn at this point is by no means an undoing, but a welcome lead into new waters. Her rising profile is being amplified by a sonic reintroduction to one of Canada’s best voices and most sincere stage personalities. On the heels of TV placements like HBO’s True Blood, CBC’s Heartland, top-tier festival circuiting, supporting Matthew Good’s tour and upcoming Canadian headlining tour, Shaela sets aside (at least for now) her Loretta Lynn likeness in favour of the synth-laden corridors of a new sonic pathway.

As Shaela puts it, “After The Masquerade is a trip back to where it all started for me. Except this time, with years of musical experience, wisdom, and capabilities of delivering my heart's desire. It’s an homage to the music that inspired me in my youth, and continues to inspire me today”.

Shaela’s new album After the Masquerade (March 22, 2024) is a self-indulgent trip back to a world of music she’s been patiently waiting to explore. The record was produced by Graham Lessard (Stars, Timbre Timbre) and recorded at Studio Bell in Calgary’s National Music Centre. Released on Canadian upstart Neon Moon Records, it’s a binary of “country and new wave that sees the two contrasting styles collide in dazzling fashion” (Plastic Mag) – a collision of genres that helped rear a young songwriter years ago.

The listener should take comfort in feeling a little tense as lyrical themes go deeper into the emotional well that Shaela mines as a songwriter. “Miller’s storytelling is profound, and her emotive delivery adds depth to the narrative” (Sinusoidal). Where dreams go unspent, the host can be left to wither, but that’s not what’s set to play out here.

Welcome to her world – won’t you come on in?