Press release –
After sharing “Too Far To Run,” the first preview of his forthcoming album Western Medicine, today Montreal-based singer/songwriter Daniel Isaiah releases “How The Tiger Got Her Stripes,” a stunning track that matches vintage early 1970s vibes with Isaiah’s unmatched storytelling.
The song is a prime example of the spontaneous group chemistry that Isaiah conjured while making Western Medicine (out April 17), a 10-song tour de force of roots music song craft, conjuring images of Leonard Cohen fronting The Band, and Randy Newman recording in Neil Young’s barn.
“The song was recorded live off the floor,” Daniel says. “At the end of the third take, we were all laughing at how unhinged it had gotten. [Guitarist] Warren Spicer said, ‘Okay, let’s be more respectful to the song.’ We tried a few more takes, but none had that same spark – so we went back to take three. It’s the sound of everyone digging in.”
The sound of Western Medicine is also in large part a reflection of the confidence Isaiah has built over the three years since making his previous album To Live A Wild Life, the result of improving his sight-reading skills and immersing himself in old songbooks.
Working in a practice room on the top floor of a building with a panoramic view of Montreal, Isaiah honed the songs on Western Medicine, some of them right up to the album’s recording sessions in May 2025 at Montreal’s Mixart Studios with a band comprised drummer Robbie Kuster, bassist Mishka Stein, pianist Jérome Beaulieu, and guitarist Warren Spicer who also oversaw engineering and mixing.
Still, it’s Isaiah’s lyrics that form the core of Western Medicine. “Fire In The Night” pays tribute to a friend who struggled with mental illness and tragically lost his life in a cabin fire north of Montreal, while “Champion Is Down” grew out of images of Mussolini and Gaddafi being done in by their own citizens. Elsewhere, Daniel was inspired to write “Old Ram’s Horn” after inheriting his grandfather’s shofar, an essential symbol of Jewish culture, while “Total Eclipse Of The Sun” was written in the immediate aftermath of the April 2024 solar event.
If Daniel Isaiah’s Western Medicine accomplishes anything, it is indeed opening our eyes and ears to fleeting moments of beauty. And once a listener does that, there can be no argument that this is one of the best albums of the year.
https://danielisaiah.bandcamp.com/music
Western Medicine track listing:
01 Too Far To Run
02 Fire In The Night
03 Western Medicine
04 Old Ram’s Horn
05 Until I Lay Me Down
06 Long March To Your Grave
07 Champion Is Down
08 How The Tiger Got Her Stripes
09 Total Eclipse Of The Sun
10 Shadow World
