Boyhood, the recording alias of rural Ontario songwriter Caylie Runciman, has announced a new album, I’ll Dream InStead, due October 23rd on Hand Drawn Dracula, and shared its lead single, Loner.
“Loner is about being, literally, a loner – but a content one,” Runciman says. “Feeling lonely but recognising your contentedness in it – it’s also quite tongue & cheek; I like to take the piss out of myself.”
Watch the accompanying video, directed, shot and edited by Phil Osborne (@rabidreels):
I’ll Dream InStead is Runciman’s fourth Boyhood album, written, performed and recorded by her alone, largely on her bed and surrounded by old drum machines and, in her words, a crappy old Casio. She describes the record as stemming from a feeling of desperation, made through a rural winter that left her feeling cooped up and lonely. Out of that isolation came what she calls a period of tapping into lonesome fantasy — tarot cards, set intentions, lit candles — and a renewed sense of purpose. “I really found myself again with this record,” she says.
The album follows 2022’s My Dread, mixed by Kenny Gilmore (Julia Holter, Weyes Blood) and well received on release. Since emerging from Ottawa’s punk scene more than a decade ago, Runciman has built a steady run of albums and festival dates across Sled Island, NXNE and Pop Montreal.
Boyhood tours North America this summer, with Canadian dates in July followed by US shows through August.
“I feel the most in touch with myself as an artist that I’ve ever been in my life,” Runciman says. “I’m very conscious of time passing, and I want to be making as much art as possible.”
I’ll Dream InStead (October 23rd) Hand Drawn Dracula
Pre-Order: https://ffm.to/illdreaminstead
Tour dates:
July 25 — Toronto, ON — Dina’s Tavern
July 27 — Ottawa, ON — Irene’s
July 28 — Montreal, QC — Sala Rossa
July 30 — Fredericton, NB — Bellwether
July 31 — Sackville, NB — Sappyfest
August 20 — Burlington, VT — The Publishing House
August 22 — Brooklyn, NY — Lava Club
August 24 — Providence, RI — Lost Bag
August 25 — Brattleboro, VT — The Buoyant Heart