For their 7th album, husband & wife-fronted Westminster Park relive life experiences, including romantic mornings, insomnia and a special wedding anniversary.
Release Date: 14th December 2025
Label: Self Release
Formats: Vinyl / Digital
SOPHISTICATED POP
Based in London, Ontario, Westminster Park is a collective fronted by husband and wife Steve and Colleen Murphy. Round Trip is Westminster Park’s seventh album and follows their 2022 offering, Songs That Rhyme With Alone. The band’s specialty is sophisticated pop with well-considered lyrics that explore such themes as relationships, self-care, loss, hopefulness, politics and romance. And, whilst with Round Trip Steve, Colleen & Co continue along that well-defined route, they’ve also taken things a step further.
The Round Trip story actually began a few years ago, during a trip that Steve and Colleen took to Nova Scotia and it was memories of that trip, and the events of the ensuing years, that provided the inspiration for the eight songs that comprise Round Trip. For this album, Steve and Colleen are joined by the biggest group of musicians that they’ve ever assembled. Familiar names like guitarist Brandon General and multi-instrumentalist Brian Baillargeon are back in the lineup but, this time, they’re joined by a host of new names; altogether, nine musicians make their first appearance on a Westminster Park album.
TIME TO GET UP!
The theme and feel of Round Trip is set out right from the start, in opening track, The Rising Sun. It’s a song that recalls that feeling of sluggishness that we all know, whenever the morning comes around just a little earlier that we would have liked. Steve’s piano is as bright as the dawn chorus but his voice, at least at first, seems to come from behind that curtain of sleep. But, when the band strike up, all thought of slumber is banished and the new day is welcomed in. Brian’s accordion is the glue that holds everything together and Colleen’s backing vocals are warm and comforting.
We stick with the subject of awakening for the poppy Waste Some Time. Birdsong accompanies Steve’s gently picked acoustic guitar, before the sound of a whistling kettle reminds everyone that it’s time to get up and get started. Steve’s and Colleen’s voices blend nicely together, the guitars trill and sparkle and, with the song’s payoff line: “Let’s soak in the sunshine,” comes an assurance that all is right with the world.
A FAMILY TRIBUTE
Colleen takes the lead vocal for Parade For You, a happy, stomping love song. She seems to having a great time, too, as she delivers the tongue-in-cheek lyrics: “I’d throw a parade for you, light the streets, so you can strut your stuff…”
Tragedy visited the Murphy family back in 2024 when Steve’s brother, Sean had to undergo major surgery. He survived the surgery but, sadly, passed away earlier this year. Sean’s ordeal is revisited in Hold On, a song that rocks gently but solidly and expresses hope and optimism for the recovery that wasn’t to be. The band are joined by Steve and Colleen’s nephew, Jack, who adds some neat, strident lead guitar; Steve’s vocals are sincere and, despite the circumstances of the song, there’s a feeling of joy in its delivery.
DANCING TO LEONARD
Soft acoustic guitar and Brian’s heartwarming violin provide the accompaniment to Steve’s vivid vocals for the gentle, intimate, Let Love Take Flight. Jasmine Ruffo’s soaring flute adds its own sprinkle of magic, paving the way A Pair on a Pier, Steve’s and Colleen’s celebration of their 20th wedding anniversary. It’s the album’s lead single and, if I was pushed to select a favourite track, this would be my choice. It’s a tender waltz, with Steve and Colleen sharing the vocal duties. Brian’s accordion adds a touch of Gallic exoticism and Ian Gifford’s drums provide the restrained, yet insistent, drive. And Leonard Cohen gets a sideways glance in the song’s punchline: “We danced all night, till the morning light, reigniting the fires. We danced all night to The End of Love and Bird on the Wire.”
London’s late, boisterous town crier, Bill Paul, provides the subject matter for the simple, sincere, Ode to the Town Crier. Steve’s repetitive Open D strums on his acoustic guitar provide an effective accompaniment to Colleen’s vocals, and chimes complete the tribute, replicating Bill’s handbell.
THE END. OR MAYBE NOT…
Round Trip is brought to an invigourating close with Goodnight, For Now. As the title suggests, it’s a song of parting, but with the promise of reconnection in the not-too-distant future. There’s a touch of wistfulness in Steve’s strident vocals, but any lingering sadness is knocked right out of the stadium when Brian’s saxophone starts to parp. As Steve says: “…that moment the saxophone appears is the most exhilarating moment in a song I’ve ever been part of. It literally gives me goosebumps.” Quite.
And that’s the end. Or is it?
Well… No it isn’t – at least, not if you’ve been one the lucky ones to acquire one of 100 limited edition vinyl copies of Round Trip. Because, as a tribute to Steve’s brother Sean, the vinyl edition includes a ‘secret’ bonus track! A minute’s silence follows Goodnight For Now, before the band strike up once again with a song called Feeling Woozy. It’s a 2-minute rock song that features brothers Mike and Sean, alongside Steve and Colleen, and it’s the only song that the three brothers ever recorded together. Sounds interesting…
Watch the official video to Been Out Walking – a track from the 2017 Westminster Park album, Fig.4: Molt, Rebirth – below:
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