The Eisenhauers

Recording and performing music is an inherently vulnerable act. When the songs are deeply personal, written in the hardest days of a musician’s life, sharing them with the world becomes an act of absolute exposure of self. This is the nature of The Eisenhauers sophomore record (yet to be named) as it maps a couple’s journey to the brink of ending it all, and then back towards love once again.

The 12-song album — recorded by husband and wife duo in The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver — features a backing band deep with talent. Nashville TN producer Steve Dawson produced the record and played lead guitars and his quintessential steel playing is featured heavily on the album. This album marks a departure from the couple’s intimate bluegrass-style recording on their debut record The Road We Once Knew. The full band is stacked with Leon Power (City in Colour) on drums, Jeremy Holmes (Hannah Georgas) on bass and Jen Gunderman (Sheryl Crow) on keys and even features a guest vocal appearance from famed Canadian vocalist Jill Barber. All this accompaniment still manages to hold the live-off-the-floor feel and the close chemistry of two people who have been singing harmonies together for 25 plus years.

Sheree wrote all the songs during a time when their relationship veered steadily towards dissolution and she hadn’t thought to ever share them. In undergoing therapy it was suggested they turn towards music, something that had fallen to the wayside amidst the raising of four children, the pandemic and moving to a new town. The couple began playing music together in an effort to resuscitate a dying love. And so, in an ironic twist of defiant love, Sheree’s songs of a relationship dissolving, sung in harmony with Jeremy, became a bridge bringing them back together.

Perhaps no song summarizes the tone and message of the record as much as the first single off the album, Gambling. The lyrics lay out the simple truth about the inevitable dark days of any relationship and that love is inherently a gamble, free from guarantees, regardless of marriage covenants or a house full of children. Yet, despite this uncertainty, the message is clear: The Eisenhauers have made the decision to go all in on love and this music is the testament to that.