Let us extend a hearty welcome to Norine Braun, dear readers and music fans. With the help of the First Peoples’ Cultural Council Award, Norine just launched her fourteenth album, “Journey Toward Wholeness.” The album explores an adoptee’s journey along with her recent reunion with her birth father and her Metis ancestry. On May 24, this 12-track album was released. Let’s discuss the album in more detail.

The album’s first song is called “Bring it on”. The song opens with bold and beautiful piano sounds before the drums and Braun’s amazing voice sets in. The song is about a persona who is ready to face whatever challenge set in her way, in fact, she welcomes adversity because she knows she will overcome it (” Bring it on, bring it on now.” Her voice range is displayed in this song and the stringed instruments in this song are on full display at their peak. This was a wonderful start to a wonderful music journey

Next is the song “Quest before Me” Braun’s voice welcomes you to this song. In a nutshell, the song is about self-discovery as the character in the song peels off layers of herself to find who is underneath(”quest before me, who will I find in here?) The song is profound and will empower you to really find yourself.

“Adoption” is the song that follows. The song is upbeat right from the start. The song is about a person who has been adopted and is curious about parts of him or her that resemble his or her biological parents(” Who’s eyes do I have?”). In the end, he or she comes to accept him or herself (”I found me”)Braun’s voice range is insane in this song and the lyrics tell a sad story but a story that has a happy ending which will captivate you

“Abandon” is the song that follows. The song begins with very nice guitar strums and mouth percussions by Braun. In the song, the persona is pleading with someone he or she holds in high esteem (”I love you like no other”)about how much he or she thinks about him or her and ends with this plea(” Don’t abandon me”). The desperation the persona feels is felt through the vocal performance and you are left feeling a range of emotions

Next is the song “Quicksand”. The song starts with dark and mystical sounds. The song is about being overwhelmed (”quicksand coming over my head”) and because of this situation believing that he or she will never be the same(”all I know is that I’ll never be the same”)The song has nice country vibes and will enthrall you

“Something from Nothing” is the next song. Very nice guitar sounds begin the song. In This country-infused song, The persona talks about giving up his or her time and effort to make something out of nothing. This song has some very unique stringed instruments that will take you out of this world

Next is the song “Hunting Buffalo”. The beginning of the song is very lively. the song is from the point of view of a buffalo who’s being chased after. Braun through her lyrics lets us know what the hunted feel. There was a beautiful guitar solo on this song that will thrill you

“Journey toward wholeness” is the song that follows. The song is about a character who is asking himself certain questions on a life-changing journey (”and now I ponder, as I wonder on this journey toward wholeness”). The persona is hopeful that this journey will yield results so he or she cheers him or herself on(”I let go of the despair”) to go and find healing. The song is very relatable and quite empowering

Next is a song called “Ascending Lullaby” This song begins in a lively manner. The song is about putting someone to sleep with a gorgeous lullaby. The song is beautiful and will take you out of this world with its charm

“Breathe in Deep” is the name of the next song. In the song, the persona is asking you to breathe in deep(”breathe in deep where did let That little girl go”). Braun gives a top-notch performance on this song and it will thrill you sonically

Next is the song “Grandma’s Jig”. This an upbeat country song about a Grandma who loved to dance(” Grandma loved the bunny hop”). The song also describes this grandma as a fun-loving grandma which is very endearing. The violin solo was incredible and elevated the whole listening experience

The album comes to an end with the song “All My Relations”. The persona in this song is on a quest to find his biological family (”where and who I came from”). The song is based on hope as the persona fulfills his desire to meet his or her family and is told more and more about her heritage and extended family members. This song is very special because it is the end of the story Braun has told throughout the album. The album “Journey Toward Wholeness” ends with this incredible song

I loved Braun’s album because of the quality of the music and the incredible story told throughout the album. Each song was a little piece of a puzzle from the first song to the very last song. She knocked this out of the park and I can’t wait to hear about her next project

Stream the “Journey Toward Wholeness” album on Spotify or SoundCloud

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