Le Ren today shared ‘May Hard Times Pass Us By,’ the final single off her debut album Leftovers out October 15th via Secretly Canadian. Her warm, sonorous voice sings of deep love and devotion on the LP’s standout closing track, alongside an Ali Vanderkruyk-directed video.
“This song is really close to my heart. It was written for someone as we worked through a turbulent time in our relationship,” explains the Montreal-based artist (née Lauren Spear). Leftovers—produced by Chris Cohen and featuring contributions from Buck Meek and Tenci, among others—is available for pre-order here.
“May Hard Times Pass Us By” follows previous singles ‘Dyan’ and ‘I Already Love You.’ “The final instalment of the Leftovers video tripartite, ‘May Hard Times Pass Us By’ begins where the ‘I Already Love You’ video ends,” explains Vanderkruyk. “Lauren’s mother drops her off at an undisclosed location and drives away. The story continues in the rehearsal and disrobing of a sad jester character, played by Le Ren as the actor. We shot the video at Tir-na-nOg Theatre School on Bowen island / Nex?wlélex?m, where Lauren grew up performing.”
Leftovers’ singles have collectively earned praise and support from NPR Music (All Songs Considered – “gorgeous voice”), Stereogum (“warm and expansive…both vulnerable and elaborate”), Paste, Gorilla vs Bear (“another glowingly tender gem from her exquisite new album”), Brooklyn Vegan, Consequence (New Sounds playlist), Jeff Tweedy’s Substack, and more.