There’s a certain quiet ache that runs through Nick Bellerose’s songs, the kind that feels born from long Canadian winters, where the nights stretch endlessly and reflection seeps into every chord. The Ottawa-based singer-songwriter is revisiting that emotional terrain with The Only Way Through (Remaster Edition), a newly polished version of his debut album, out now via ForeverYoung Records.
Originally released several years ago, The Only Way Through charted Bellerose’s passage through grief, love, and redemption, written with the intimacy of someone processing life in real time. The new edition refines that introspection without dulling its edge, bringing richer tones and sharper production to his blend of indie and alternative folk.
The remaster highlights songs like “Every Time,” featuring the haunting vocals of Myri, and “That Night,” now layered with shimmering slide guitar, gentle synths, and a steady heartbeat of percussion. It’s the sound of an artist looking back with both tenderness and perspective, aligning him with the likes of Bon Iver, The Tallest Man on Earth, and The Deep Dark Woods.
Described by Bellerose as “a nostalgic and melancholic journey through life’s pains and desires,” the record feels like a quiet reckoning. It’s a reminder that even in reflection, there’s momentum, the kind of hard-won acceptance that Bruce Cockburn once called “kicking at the darkness ’til it bleeds daylight.”
To mark the release, Bellerose will embark on a short November tour with stops in Montreal, Toronto, and Gatineau, joined by Myri, Gabriel Comba, and Alex Southey. For an artist whose work lives in the space between sorrow and solace, it’s the perfect way to bring The Only Way Through full circle.
Photo credit: Christine Goodyear
Share this :
