That Eric Alper

There are moments when life tells us it’s time to get up and get out—even if the departure we’re being nudged into is simply a withdrawal from our own outmoded patterns of thought and behaviour.

That’s the personal exodus Toronto alt-rock band Shoemaker Levee is describing on their current single, “Planning Our Escape.” Like a collective Moses leading the way out of a wilderness of malaise, the group issues an impassioned call to leave the spiritual doldrums behind and head straight for something more edifying and enlightened. Something better.

Some days you’re chasing stones
Dazed, amazed, resigned to walk alone
I’m waking it up, I’m waking it up
I’m planning to escape
Out past the ransacked minds
Shaken awake

“You reach a point in your life where you’re forced to face yourself and the choices you’ve made,” the band says. “And you can either let them define you, or you can decide to put a concerted effort into shaping how you want to live the rest of your life.”

For further specifics, the group points to the lyric “I can’t sleep at night/ Because I read the words between the lines,” which they say is “a statement about realizing that a lot is going on under the surface of what we see and read daily.” In other words, you can’t get where you need to go without first lifting the veil that’s been covering your eyes.

None of which is to suggest that “Planning Our Escape” is a stuffy self-help exercise. Far from it, the song advances its motivational sentiments within a musical context that’s fully invigorating and captivating on its own terms. Vocalist/guitarist Kevin Rogers Cobus establishes a mood of introspection and reflection that’s soon blown into the stratosphere by the arrival of some simply massive guitar chords from him and lead axeman Dave Broadhead. As exhortations to free your mind to go, this one is irresistibly catchy and commercial—even with the incorporation of a bridge that relies on some unorthodox, almost jazz-like chord changes that initially threw some of the group’s own fans for a loop. But once they heard what those changes were resolving into, “Everything made sense,” the group relates happily. “And that was indeed what we were going for.”

Though it’s only now being released in a recorded version, “Planning Our Escape” was one of the first songs the band wrote when they returned seven years ago from an extended hiatus, and with a slightly retooled lineup. (In addition to Cobus and Broadhead, the unit is rounded out by bassist Matt Brown and drummer Dwayne Cardoso). First formed in 1998 in their native Newmarket, Shoemaker Levee had been forced to go on an extended leave in 2004 that ended up lasting nearly 12 years due to everything from work and family commitments to far more serious challenges like cancer and addiction.

One upside of that long absence was that they were able to stockpile an estimated five albums’ worth of material, which they’re only now in the process of sharing with the world. The musical data dump began with the well-received long-players Phase of the Days and Another Round, and it continues with their brand-new Between the Lines, a 10-song opus that furthers the group’s reputation for anthemic, introspective rock that has its roots in everything from classical to progressive to alternative to folk. The influences on display are legion and represent some of the band’s collective favourites, including The Tragically Hip, Led Zeppelin, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails and Iron Maiden. You can absolutely hear the latter in the interwoven guitar lines that close out “Planning Our Escape,” which the group says symbolize “how our journeys are in part walked alone, in part together.”

The new album was previewed by first single “Hinterlands,” which caused quite a stir when it dropped back in June. The track broke 1,000 streams within a 7-day period and became Shoemaker Levee’s first single to reach over 6,000 streams on Spotify. It also landed in the top 10 on radio stations as far afield as the UK, Australia and Mexico. “Planning Our Escape” is already shaping up to be an even bigger hit, having registered more than 1,500 Spotify listens within its first week of release.
Excitement for the record is at a fever pitch as the band continues its nonstop gigging around the Toronto area and beyond. Engagements at the Schomberg Mug Run and on the Gull Lake Rotary Park barge (to open the Tall Pines Music & Arts Festival) have added to a rich live legacy that has in the past seen the group leave its indelible mark on prestigious venues like the El Mocambo, Supermarket, The Reverb, The Opera House, The Horseshoe Tavern, Lee’s Palace and the Rivoli.

In the process, they’ve racked up some pretty impressive honours. Shoemaker Levee have won the Steam Whistle Indie Music Series, achieved second place at the Ticket to Tall Pines Festival contest (in both 2023 and 2024) and headlined the 2023 Gussapolooza Music Festival. Community-minded to the end, they continue to support initiatives like the York Pridefest in Newmarket and the Annual Terry Fox Run in Toronto.

Like their records, their current live shows are allowing them to draw on their thick repertoire of originals both old and new—and, thanks to the versatility and collaborative spirit of the current lineup, something that’s a little bit of both.

“Some of our songs are revitalized versions of songs that were written over 20 years ago, and the lyrics still fit what’s happening today,” they declare with a mixture of wonder and plain old artistic relief.

Then again, who doesn’t need a good escape plan now and then? With all apologies to the Terminator, come with Shoemaker Levee if you want to really live.