Lucy Fitzgerald 
Toronto’s Tyler Ellis has a way of writing about regular people that never feels forced, and his new single “Union Song” is a good example of that. It’s the lead single off his upcoming ninth album, “Hardwarestore”, and it’s the kind of song you want to hear more than once. The harmonica opens things up and sets a warm, folky tone before Ellis even starts singing. He mentioned in an interview that this was basically a first take, and you can tell. There’s a looseness to the recording that makes it feel real instead of overworked. His voice has that road-worn quality you’d expect from someone who’s been writing songs for decades, and a small backing choir joins him at just the right spots to push the message home.
The lyrics are about looking out for each other. “I got my brothers and my brothers got me, I got my sisters and my sisters got me” is the kind of line that sticks with you, and Ellis ties it to a broader idea of people from every background having each other’s backs. He wrote an early version of this song years ago during a period of union picketing, and that backstory gives the whole thing more weight. You can hear a bit of Woody Guthrie in the bones of it, but Ellis puts his own gentler spin on it. I really like this one, and I think it deserves a spot on everyone’s playlist right now. Go follow Tyler Ellis and check out “Union Song” for yourself.
Listening to songs so you don’t have to! Just kidding :D, you totally should. Music blogger by day, nurse by night
