Stranger Still - We Might Not Tell Everybody This (2026)

We Might Not Tell Everybody This is the third record from Stranger Still, and is filled with more musical settings by composer Pete Johnston of poems by Canadian poet Alden Nowlan (1933-1983). Johnston and Nowlan share a birthplace of Hants County, Nova Scotia, and the poems tell stories of the people, seasons, and landscape of the Atlantic coast of Canada.

From the liner notes by Allan Cooper: “An old friend of Alden and Claudine Nowlan once told me that each time he visited their home, there was music playing. Our best poets seem to have a sense that the music of words is crucial to a successful poem. Otherwise, the poem will not take flight for the reader. In We Might Not Tell Everybody This, composer Pete Johnston has handled Nowlan’s words with grace and delicacy. The music is quite minimal, but is shaped in such a way that it catches the emotive quality of Nowlan’s words; sometimes a sense of aloneness, sometimes joy or loss, but always with sensitivity and attentiveness.”

The Critics say:

"This is an album of quiet beauty and considerable craft. It’s an eccentric yet charming Canadian folk record that feels rooted in tradition while also subtly pushing against it." - Mike Gates, UKVibe

"In an era often dominated by speed and distraction, We Might Not Tell Everybody This offers something far more valuable: the opportunity to slow down, listen carefully, reflect, and read Nolwan's poems. It reminds us that poetry still matters, that nature still matters, and that music can deepen our understanding of both." - Frankie Pfeiffer, PARIS-MOVE

Mim Adams - vocals
Randi Helmers - vocals
Rob Clutton - string bass
Pete Johnston - acoustic guitar, lap steel, vocals

Sarah Frank - violin
Màiri Chaimbeul - harp
Andrew Killawee - harmonium