The Cousins, featuring actual real-life cousins Kevin Hearn (Barenaked Ladies) and actor/comedian Harland Williams, will unleash their new LP Rattlesnake Love to the world on March 17, 2017. The album features 11 eclectic and diverse tracks written and recorded in The Purple Pineapple Studios with Hearn at the production helm. Title track “Rattlesnake Love” features legendary JUNO and Genie Award-winning “agent provocateur” Carole Pope. Listen + share the track HERE. Hearn and Williams, whose mothers are sisters and who forged a strong family and musical bond starting when they were kids, last released an EP in 2004 titled “The Love Song Years”.
Harland and Kevin have been kindred spirits, and collaborators on many different projects over the years. They have always enjoyed creating songs together. The new album also features two songs from their 2004 EP, making them available online for the first time. Says Kevin Hearn, “It’s fun to make music that doesn’t have to fit a certain criteria, whether it be regarding the style or sound, or who is going to be performing it,” says Hearn. “I’m inspired by the adventurous works of artists such as David Lynch and Sun Ra. Harland and I go all over the musical map, from country to electropop.”
Hearn is best known as a multi-instrumentalist from Barenaked Ladies, the multi-platinum selling band he’s played with for almost two decades now. One of the most respected Toronto musicians of the past 25 years, Hearn’s solo albums always attract equally brilliant collaborators including singer/songwriters Ron Sexsmith and Dan Hill and producer Gavin Brown (Metric, Tragically Hip, Sarah Harmer). One of Hearn’s closest relationships, both musical and personal, was with the late, great Lou Reed, for whom Hearn acted as keyboardist and musical director from 2007 up until his passing in 2013. Hearn is currently performing with Gord Downie in support of his Secret Path project.
Comedian and actor Harland Williams is known the world over for his hilarious movie roles and outlandish stand-up and sketch comedy routines. He has starred in numerous unforgettable roles including the pee-drinking cop in “Dumb and Dumber”, the loveable horse-killing stoner, Kenny in “Half Baked”, the hitchhiking serial killer in “There’s Something About Mary”, the silent motorcycle stud Slater, in “Superstar”, and the goof-ball astronaut Fred Z. Randall in “Rocketman”. He has done solo stand-up comedy specials for HBO, Comedy Central, CTV, and CBC, and is also seen regularly on Late Night with Conan O’Brian. In addition to his on-screen roles, Williams is now working behind the scenes as creator of the Disney Jr. animated show Puppy Dog Pals.
Adds Williams, “These songs came from deeply emotional places as well as insanely ridiculous places. It all has merit as long as you love the songs you create.”
Rattlesnake Love Track List
- Behind The Glass
- Rattlesnake Love
- Bikini Baby Breakdown
- Broken Angel
- Tropical Horizon
- You Can Lie
- Power Pound
- The Clown
- Attention Earthlings
- Lemonade
- Lover’s Heart