Canadian artist Bells Larsen has delivered their stunningly beautiful new album. Blurring Time is filled with stripped back folky tunes sharing stories of love, relationships and dealing with gender dysphoria.
Larsen made headlines late last month when he announced that a planned tour of the USA would not be going ahead. On his Instagram the musician explained, “To put it super plainly, because I’m trans (and have an M on my passport), I can’t tour in the States,” he said.
The opening track of the record was written back in 2021 when during the covid pandemic, and locked away alone in his apartment, the musician faced his gender dysphoria.
“Friday night, drinking boxed wine, alone in my apartment blurring time” the title track begins, and it’s powerful animated video brings to life the challenge of Larsen says he’d been avoiding for a long time.
After making the decision to begin taking testosterone, Larsen was concerned about how it would affect his singing voice, after all it’s how he expresses himself and makes a living. So he decided to record the album first, but then later he came back and recorded the vocals with his deeper more masculine voice, effectively creating a duet with his pre-transition self.
While Larsen is not the first artist who is transgender to do this, his creation is possibly the most beautiful. There was a three year gap between recording the two sections of the record.
If you love musicians like Nick Drake, Kings of Convenience, Stina Nordenstam or Elliot Smith – or 90’s Perth band Apartment 99, then this is an album you’re going to adore.
Alongside a simple strummed guitars the album opens with the heartfelt ode to working out who you are.
“Maleficent social construct, if it is all made up, why do I give a fuck?” Larsen sings in a clear ode to embracing their gender.
The mellow vibes continues with the captivating 514-415 which has country vibes with a solid beat coming in, putting the song in a space between genres. But less than five minutes into this sonic journey and we’ve melted into a relaxed state of bliss.
The Way the Wind blows builds the intensity, and name checks musical influences Joni Mitchell and Sade. Calme incertain is sung in French, the singer is after all from Montreal.
Questions tackles aging, mental health and isolation, returning to the mix of gentle guitars and subtle vocals, Larsen’s old and new voices mixed together.
A subtle warm organ sound is added on My Brother & Me, and potentially has the first mention of Canadian writer Jordan Peterson. Larsen’s sibling advice about the 12 Rules for Life author is to put down his best selling book.
Larsen wonders if his younger brother is someone who can help him understand what it means to be a ‘good man’ and ponders if gender transition will also change his thinking and attitude.
“Will I change or stay the same?” he ponders. “Will I be an ass-hole or a gentleman?”
Closer Might is another beautiful cut, with the sing-a-long call of “My voice might get deep”, with Larsen’s deeper register arriving after the first verse.
While the tracks on Blurred Time all have a very similar sound with only subtle changes in instrumentation from one song to the next, it’s a incredibly chilled and delightful sonic journey to take and warrants repeat listens.
Follow Bells Larsen on Instagram and listed to Blurred Time on all major streaming services.
Images: Lawrence Fafard
