Carleigh Aikins is no stranger to being on stage and performing. However, much of that time has been spent hidden in the shadows, standing in a corner and being a back-up vocalist to and for other artists. However, all of us can only spend so much time tucked away, our talents obscured and overlooked. Now it’s Carleigh’s time to shine. Her debut solo album JUNK JEWELERY, which showcases her impressive vocal range and song-writing abilities, and has rock, pop and soul undertones, drops on Friday, and today PopWrapped are delighted to premiere its focus track “Good Book.”

Asked about the inspiration to the new track, Carleigh shared: “The themes found in my song “Good Book” stem from my own upbringing in the Canadian Catholic School Board education system. But the song is also born from a past relationship with someone who was living a “double life,” largely due to their repressive upbringing being home-schooled under Christian curriculum and morals/values. 

While my partner was struggling with defining their identity – which was manifesting through severe addiction – I was confronted with my own issues revolving around these same things. My partner was suffering and acting out on a “more severe” level; while I was struggling in a more “traditional” sense with society’s normalization of drinking alcohol and making bad decisions. 

The lyric “I’m not the Sinner, no, I’m working on my Halo. Now you’re the Sinner ’cause the Good Book says so” was born from passing the blame to my partner for allowing his addictions and “sins” to get further out of control, even though I too was struggling. I was tending to his destruction while telling myself I wasn’t as far gone as he was – but we were both manifesting our pain through different forms of self-destruction and dysfunction which, in the eyes of the Bible, were sinful and therefore we should be ashamed of ourselves.”

She goes on to add, detailing the creative process to and behind the release: “Good Book” was first demoed in Colorado while I was writing with my former band Paper Bird. My friends from the bands Zeus, Brave Shores, Wax Atlantic and Ocean Potion took my rudimentary demo to a new level as we rehearsed and workshopped it later in Toronto.  I presented it to Marcus Paquin, who agreed to produce it at Studio Mixart in Montreal. He listened intently to it and on the day of pre-production said: “This song needs to be a party anthem.” He brought a new urgency to the vibe of the song, which I found fitting, since it stemmed from a response to a lifestyle of “parties and sins.” Evan Tighe – drummer for Patrick Watson – brought such infectious grooves to it, in tandem with Marcus’ impeccable in-the-pocket bass playing and Pietro Amato’s proficient delivery on keys. The song maintained its influence from the earlier demos, yet was given a new energy. It’s become possibly my favourite song on the record.”

As for what she’s working on now, she says: “I’m currently spending countless hours making stop-motion halo’s and religious imagery/symbology to integrate into the “Good Book” official music video, which will debut in the early new year. For now, I’ve made a lyric video that features hundreds of frames of photos of myself looking simultaneously angelic and strung out.”

Check out the lyric video for “Good Book” above and for more information on Carleigh Aikins, visit her website, give her page a like on Facebook or follow her on Twitter and Instagram.