Nova Scotia-Based Songwriter Melina Coolen Finds Power in Simply Being on Hopeful Single “I Will Be Me” (feat. Chris Cron), New Album ‘Street Pigeon’ Out Now

Canadian songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, audio engineer and sound designer Melina Coolen unveils her new album, Street Pigeon, a deeply personal exploration of grief, loneliness, societal uncertainty, resilience, and finding your own way. Moving between retro-pop/rock, country, and electronic/synth textures, the album spans songs written across a decade while revealing a more poetic and contemplative side of Coolen’s songwriting. Street Pigeon marks the first album she incorporates sound design as an instrument as well as playing every single instrument sound herself.

Named after the weathered street pigeons Coolen encountered while living in Toronto, the record draws a parallel between their resilience and the experience of feeling internally unmoored by grief, relationships, careers, or an unexpected turn in life.

“You don’t have to be homeless to feel homeless on the inside – to feel loss whether it’s grieving loved ones, relationships, careers,” Coolen explains. “When your life takes a different path than expected and you don’t know where you’re going but you always smile and keep trying to do the right thing…”

“I Will Be Me” (feat. Chris Cron), is a hopeful affirmation of inherent self-worth and the idea that happiness ultimately comes from within. Its melody was originally written years ago for a documentary before being cut for time and returned to Coolen. Her attempts to add lyrics stalled until she revisited it during a particularly difficult and lonely period. 

“I think it ended up being an empowering and relatable song,” she says. “It’s funny how sometimes your art also just needs to wait for the right time.”

“I Will Be Me” advocates the message that there is value in being and that happiness comes from within: “Society makes it seem like you have to be the smartest, most beautiful, richest, most popular person to have purpose in life. And while those goals can be nice, it doesn’t dictate our value. Us being alive today adds value and makes the world a better place.” 

At its centre, Coolen shares the empowering affirmation of “I Am.” “If bad or unfair things have happened to you or you’re worried or overwhelmed about something, saying ‘I Am’ can be really grounding and reassuring in knowing all those things haven’t conquered you,” she explains. “For in this very moment, you are.”

“I Will Be Me” also features vocals from Chris Cron, whom Coolen discovered after a friend sent her his videos on social media. As a longtime Beach Boys fan, something immediately clicked. After first inviting Cron to contribute to album track “Will Be Alright,” she sent him “I Will Be Me,” where his improvised harmonies became part of the finished arrangement.