Acclaimed Americana singer-songwriter Mariel Buckley returns with her third studio album, Strange Trip Ahead, out now via Birthday Cake Records. Following the success of her 2022 Polaris Prize–longlisted album, Everywhere I Used to Be, Buckley steps boldly into a new sonic chapter — one that blurs the lines between alt-Americana, indie rock, and emotive confessional songwriting.
Serving as the album’s emotional centerpiece, “Anvil” captures the tension of life-altering decisions in a relationship — specifically around the question of whether to have children. Co-written with Nashville songwriter Robby Hecht and featuring Buckley’s brother T. Buckley on mandolin and background vocals, the track is one of the most meticulously constructed on the record.
“Anvil explores the decision around having kids — those ‘will we/won’t we’ conversations,” Buckley explains. “As a woman and as a queer person, the scrutiny around that choice is intense. It forces you to look unromantically at what partnership and permanence really mean.”
Driven by heavy rhythm sections, pedal steel tension, and Buckley’s soaring vocal delivery, the song embodies the weight of love and inevitability — a slow burn that simmers with emotional gravity.
Produced by Jarrad K (Ruston Kelly, Lucie Silvas, Fancy Hagood, Goo Goo Dolls), Strange Trip Ahead finds Buckley in full creative bloom. Across nine deeply introspective tracks, she explores the vulnerability of existing in uncertainty — navigating love, loss, and the difficult choices that shape a life.
“This album has some genre deviations, but the signature ‘sad guy sauce’ remains true,” Buckley says. “I used to steal my older brother’s CDs in the early 00s — and found myself deep in the alt-rock of that era. In many ways, this record was my gateway drug to indie rock. Grief, loss, liminal spaces — and of course, another song about doing it in the car.”
Written largely during a reflective period in Edmonton and finished in Nashville, Strange Trip Ahead is a meditation on the push and pull of creative life — the exhaustion and exhilaration of pursuing meaning through art. From the weary confessions of “Vending Machines,” to the watery nostalgia of “Swim Practice,” to the gut-punch self-awareness of “Sick of Myself,” Buckley captures the beauty and burden of staying human through change.
“Ultimately, this album is one about choices, and accepting the snack that falls when we push the button,” Buckley says. “I hope you find yourself somewhere in it. Hang on, buddy — the best is yet to come.”
Ahead of the album’s release, Buckley shared a trio of singles that charted her evolution into more expansive sonic territory. “Vending Machines” (May 14) set the tone with its hypnotic reflection on burnout and belonging, paired with a noir-inspired video capturing the quiet desolation of tour life. “Swim Practice” (August 6), co-written with Cassidy Mann, found Buckley stepping into moody, indie-rock territory — a confessional exploration of queer longing, teenage secrecy, and self-discovery. Most recently, “Nashville Now” (September 17) offered a melancholy portrait of self-sabotage and existential dread, balancing love and fear with poetic restraint, and signaling the introspective depth of Strange Trip Ahead.
Strange Trip Ahead Tracklist
- Vending Machines
- Anvil
- Swim Practice
- Sunflowers
- Headroom
- Sick of Myself
- Nashville Now
- Somewhere Else
- Lucky
Upcoming Tour Dates
Jan 24 – Glace Bay, NS – Savoy Theatre *
Jan 27 / 28 – Fredericton, NB – The Playhouse *
Jan 29 – Charlottetown, PE – Confederation Centre of the Arts *
Jan 30 – Saint John, NB – Imperial Theatre Saint John *
Jan 31 – Moncton, NB – Casino New Brunswick *
Feb 4 – Pitou, NS – DeCoste Performing Arts Centre *
Feb 5 / 6 / 7 – Halifax, NS – Lighthouse Arts Centre *
Feb 11 – Kingston, ON – Grand Theatre *
Feb 12 – Sherbrooke, QC – Théâtre Granada *
Feb 13 – Montreal, QC – Club Soda *
Feb 14 – Ottawa, ON – Southam Hall *
Feb 15 – Peterborough, ON – Showplace Performance Centre *
Feb 17 – Hamilton, ON – The Music Hall *
Feb 18 – Sarnia, ON – Imperial Theatre – Sarnia *
Feb 19 – Kitchener, ON – Centre in the Square *
Feb 20 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall *
Feb 23 – Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings Theatre *
Feb 24 – Saskatoon, SK – TCU Place *
Feb 25 – Calgary, AB – Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium *
Feb 26 – Edmonton, AB – Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium *
Feb 28 – Kelowna, BC – Kelowna Community Theatre *
Mar 1 – Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre *
Mar 2 – Victoria, BC – Royal Theatre *
June 26 – Pendleton, OR – Jackalope Jamboree
*Supporting Matt Andersen
