Stranger Still
We Might Not Tell Everybody This

out: May 22nd, 2026, on All-Set! Editions (CD/DL)
Genre: Folk, Progressive/ Experimental Rock

Pete Johnston — petejohnstonmusic.com
All-Set! Editions — all-set.bandcamp.com

The last time listeners heard from Toronto-based composer and musician Pete Johnston (on record, at least) was on his acclaimed 2025 collaboration with Màiri Morrison & Alasdair Roberts, Remembered In Exile: Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia (Drag City). Johnston was the instigator of this project and performed on bass and organ while crafting arrangements for the seven-piece band and co-producing. 

Johnston’s band Stranger Still‘s may not quite have the firm traditional grounding of this other project but it nonetheless works from a shared perspective of reshaping folk music into something utterly unique.  It’s also similarly rooted in Johnston’s Nova Scotian upbringing. Stranger Still‘s forthcoming album, We Might Not Tell Everybody This (due out May 22 on CD/DL from All-Set! Editions)is the quartet’s third release and continues to trace the writing of beloved autodidact poet Alden Nowlan to produce intricate and angular songs.
 
Reflecting Johnston’s love of British Isles folk music, progressive rock as well as his immersion in various creative music forms spanning standards to free improv, the band creates tuneful yet asymmetrical pieces that bring accessibility and eccentricity in equal measure. 

Mim Adams and Randy Helmers are often heard singing together in this work (sometimes joined by Johnston). Johnston—best known as a bassist—is the group’s guitar player while bass duties are handled by Rob Clutton, another key figure in Toronto’s jazz and improvised music scene.  This new recording’s sonic palette is undeniable tinted by its cast of noteworthy. Sarah Frank of the Bombadils (violins) and Johnston’s longtime collaborator Andrew Killawee (harmonium), were both previously heard on the Morrison & Roberts recording, while harpist Màiri Chaimbeul has worked with the likes of Darol Anger, Liz Carroll, and Rose Cousins. The contributions of each of these three make this Stranger Still’s most rich and varied recording to date, infusing Johnston’s songs with newfound warmth and nuance.

COVERAGE:
List — Upcoming Releases, Tinnitist
List — Darryl Sterdan, Next Week in Music | May 18-24 • The Long List: 420+ Releases On The Way, Tinnitist
List — Nouveautés musicales du 22 mai 2026, Caisse du son
List — Nye Releaser (22/5-26), Releasefredag!
List —New Releases, Exclaim!
News — Eksperiment
News — Exposé
Review — Mike Gates, UK Vibe
Review — Russell A. Trunk, Exclusive Magazine
Review/ Round-up — Beehive Candy
Round-up/ Radio — RTRFM Features Edition 25 May 2026, RTRFM
Round-up — Album Roundup Week Ending 22 May 2026, Silent Radio
Playlist — Weekly Releases (22.05.26), gatekeep!
Radio/ Feature — Radio Agora (June 13, 2026)
Radio — Beats & Roots: The Hip Hop Chronicles, KCSB (June 8, 2026)
Radio — Off The Hook, KXSF (May 31, 2026)
Radio — Out To Lunch, RTRFM (May 26, 2026)
Radio — Emotion Wards, KCSB (May 25, 2026)
Radio — Off The Hook, KXSF (May 15, 2026)
Radio — Beats & Roots: The Hip Hop Chronicles, KCSB (May 11, 2026)
Radio — Hejira, WORT (April 30, 2026)
Radio — More Than One Knull To Skin A Way, KWVA (April 28, 2026)
Radio — Electric Sense, CIUT (April 23, 2026)
Radio — Transcendent Phase, KWVA (April 21, 2026)
Radio — Off The Hook, KXSF (April 10, 2026)