Todd Kowaluk - "Enough is Enough"

Vancouver singer songwriter Todd Kowaluk has been working on his unique brand of indie folk for a number of years, infusing 90s-influenced indie rock and pop with a higher message since his EP, Love Can Set Us Free. With new single "Enough Is Enough,", Kowaluk found himself exploring that same topic without realizing it.

Kowaluk had the catchy, Paul Westerberg-esque indie pop guitar riff laid out four years ago, but may have been setting it aside for when he cracked the conceptual code of the old adage "enough is enough." 

"For me, as a songwriter, the question I kept going back to was 'how does this song end' ? That questioning made me want to evolve the song, find a brighter ending, hope for new beginning, a higher version of myself. I wanted to be a better human somehow, & hopefully in the process a better songwriter."

When is enough enough? How does an artist know when something is finished? How does a heart know when it's healed? Are humans as a race missing the beauty that's all around them by putting limits on themselves and others."Enough Is Enough" starts with that fatalistic phrase and turns it into a question and a call for people to be honest with their hearts, with each other and with, well, infinity. If love will set us free why constantly test it with boundaries?"

The pondering of all these questions is set within the backwards (chorus first) structure of the song and Kowaluk's personal experience with his questioning nature. 

"There's really not much traditional about this song. It starts with a chorus, and generally songs don't start with a chorus, It questions the rules and at the same time asks what is important about being human in this ever-changing world of ours. It's a protest song!"

A protest song with a storyteller's perspective and wit is a clever way with which songwriters are able to hook in their audience and suddenly, said audience is pondering along with them. The catchy guitar riff that one reviewer called "infectious" yet "unassuming" is another way Kowaluk draws listeners into his reality, and it's highly effective, if the likes of Tom Waits and Chris Rea are to be believed. Kowaluk has that same style and impact.

In the first verse of "Enough Is Enough," Todd Kowaluk admits he doesn't know where he's "going with this song," and that "it's a question I've been asking all along, and a lifetime long ago and far away; guess I really never had a voice to say." With this track, it seems Kowaluk has found that voice and will no longer be alone in asking this question anymore; with his great musical hook and relatable lyrics, audiences won't be able to get enough of "Enough Is Enough."

Kowaluk enlisted the production support of local Vancouver electronic music legend Dave King of longwalkshortdock.

"I met Dave King in the hallway of the studio I had been renting a couple nights a week over the last year or so. We hit it off pretty well and he like some of my original songs and kept saying he was willing to put a song of mine together as a producer sometime. I was like ya sure that sounds great. He suggested recording Enough is Enough which at the time wasn't a complete song and he gets credit and major kudos for lighting a fire under my ass to finish the song."

"Enough is Enough" hits digital platforms on July 18, 2023.