Castle Frank Shares New Single 'For Jamie'

05-23-2023

Single art

(The Syndicate) Toronto indie-pop songwriter Castle Frank, aka Max Berge, released his latest single, "For Jamie" today, premiering the track via Spill Magazine. "For Jamie" is featured on Castle Frank's upcoming debut album, In Your Blood, due out June 23. Additionally, Castle Frank has announced an album release celebration in Toronto, at The Monarch Tavern.

Discussing "For Jamie," Max noted that, "Jamie is a character I created based on a few people I used to know. It's a song about their actions and lifestyle and how it was negatively impacting their lives. Whether it's staying up all night playing video games or lying to and manipulating others for personal and financial gain, it's ultimately about understanding that you can't help people that don't want to be helped, and while wishing them the best you have to move on and let go."

Produced by Castle Frank with collaborators Nixon Boyd (Hollerado, Dizzy) and Matt Lederman (!!!, The Rural Alberta Advantage), In Your Blood is the merging of Max's influences: from producers like Noah Goldstein, Emile Haynie and Jon Hopkins, to the foundations of classic songwriting in the vein of artists like David Bowie and The National.

At the age of 19, Max left a small suburb on the West Coast with nothing but a duffel bag and landed himself in Toronto. He ended up dead broke, living in the storage room of the guitar shop he worked at in the city's west end. During his first winter after arriving, he holed up in the basement of the shop and began writing about his experiences in the city. With a laptop, mic, a Moog Sub 37 and Tempest Drum Machine, Max began writing and working on this collection of tracks.

The album's first single, "Shallows," arrived last summer, quickly grabbing the attention of Exclaim! Magazine, who featured follow up single, "Just Kids," in their 'New Faves' column, stating "Euphoric single 'Just Kids' brings giant-sized synth hooks to sweet, sensitive electropop," and inviting Castle Frank to perform at one of their 'Class of 2022' events in Toronto. Castle Frank announced In Your Blood last month with "Half Awake."

For Max, In Your Blood is a reflection on how, "sometimes places, people or experiences can leave a mark that you carry until it becomes a part of you. Even if you'd prefer to forget, you learn to accept it as everything you've been through has made you who you are."