Recording and performing music is an inherently vulnerable act. When the songs are deeply personal, written in the hardest days of a musician’s life, sharing them with the world becomes an act of absolut exposure of self. This is the nature of The Eisenhauers sophomore record, Back Burner, as it maps a couple's journey to the brink of separation and their ultimate decision to step back, to turn to one another, and embrace their music and love once again.

The 12-song album, recorded in The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, could easily be mistaken for a breakup album. With song titles like Heartache Alley, Not Working and Something’s Gotta Give, parts of it listen like a private journal of a relationship torn apart by routine, overwhelm and disconnection with threadbare weavings of hope. In many ways, it is exactly that.

Music has always been a part of Sheree and Jeremy Eisenhauer’s 25 years together. Their relationship was kindled by long days and nights of touring their independent musical acts and, after releasing eight combined albums of their solo projects, they released The Road We Once Knew, their first record as a duo, in 2017. Recorded in Steve Dawson’s home studio in Nashville, it was an intimate ode to moving from the metropolis of Vancouver to Kaslo, a small town in British Columbia’s southern interior.

In 2021 they moved again, this time to Kimberly, BC. They built a house to raise their four children in, the pandemic dragged on, and playing music together took a backseat. As an emotional distance grew and their decades-long relationship veered steadily towards dissolution, Sheree began to write — a prolific outpouring of honest heartache. The songs, so deeply personal and brutally honest, were never meant to be shared. Then their relationship counselor suggested that they turn towards music, the element that had meant so much to them for so long, in an effort to bridge the divide. They did, and in an ironic twist of defiant love, Sheree’s songs of a relationship dissolving, sung in harmony with one another, brought them together again.

Recorded in the spring of 2024, the album features an all star cast of session musicians. Leon Power, drummer for City and Colour and Frazey Ford, and bassist Jeremy Holmes make up the rhythm section, while Jen Gunderman, who often joins Sheryl Crow on stage, plays keyboard. Steve Dawson returns for a second album in a row, offering mandolin and electric and slide guitar while also producing the album. Juno winner, Jill Barber, also lent her voice to the song Gambler.

The full band sound is a far cry from their debut which leaned into a stripped-back bluegrass style of recording yet it still holds onto the live-off-the-floor feeling thanks to some unique decisions during the recording process. For each song, Sheree and Jeremy would play it for the band who, by design, had never heard the songs before. The band would then go talk amongst themselves while looking at the charts and, usually before the song was over, would start playing along. Then they would play it once all the way through before hitting record. Usually one take was enough before they would individually add overdubs to create a layered, full listening experience that fills out the innate chemistry of Sheree and Jeremy’s playing and sung harmonies.

The songwriting is simple and honest, the directness making the songs impact immediately and viscerally felt. While some, like Back Burner and What If?, seem born from pain and a disillusionment with love, others like Pretty Song and First Robin carry a deep sense of healing and hope.

Perhaps no song summarizes the tone and message of the record as much as the track Gambler. The lyrics lay out simple truths, like the inevitable dark days of any relationship and that love is inherently a gamble, free from guarantees, regardless of marriage covenants or a house full of children. Yet, despite this uncertainty, the message is clear: The Eisenhauers have made the decision to go all in on love and music one more time.