Teagan Johnston explores family, identity, heartbreak, and the search for belonging on Big Time, a genre-blending sophomore album that redefines success.
Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist Teagan Johnston returns with Big Time, a candid sophomore album that examines ambition, identity, family, heartbreak, and the search for belonging.
Recorded over two years at Taurus Recording in Toronto and Sonic Ranch in Texas, the album expands her alt-country sound while retaining elements of folk, emo, and indie rock. Her previously released singles have earned praise from CBC’s Q, Exclaim!, and SiriusXM.
Rethinking Success and the Meaning of Home
Johnston began writing Big Time after stepping away from her music career to reflect on a decade spent chasing success. Rather than offering easy answers, the album confronts familial trauma and heartbreak while finding moments of humor in life’s contradictions.
Her personal experiences also reshaped her understanding of home. After distancing herself from several family members while confronting childhood trauma, Johnston began questioning where she belonged and whether her relationships and career could provide the stability she sought.
The album’s title track was the first song she wrote for the project, before she knew whether she would release the material. One lyric, “We got on like a house on fire,” unexpectedly connected with photographer Christopher Jerome’s image House Fire, which he sent her that same night. The photograph features a burning Vancouver Special home against a quiet, dark neighborhood.
Having grown up in Victoria, British Columbia, Johnston recognized the familiar architecture and connected it to her childhood. Its contrast between suburban normalcy and a burning house reflected the difference between a family’s outward appearance and its private struggles. The photograph ultimately became the album cover.
Bringing Memories to Life
Johnston and filmmaker Ryan Glover, known for their work on the Canadian horror film The Strings, co-directed the “Big Time” music video. Using a projector, a Hi8 camera, and Glover’s family home in Burlington, Ontario, they filmed until 4 a.m. to create a dreamlike portrayal of home, identity, and memory.
Johnston wanted to present the imagery of a burning home with a joyful, exploratory, almost childlike perspective. She explains that questions of home and identity shaped the album’s creation.
After growing up moving frequently, Johnston spent much of her twenties searching for belonging through relationships and professional achievement. With Big Time, she turns that pursuit inward, asking whether success means reaching an external milestone or finding a sense of home within herself.
Stream Teagan Johnston’s Big Time and discover a deeply personal musical journey through ambition, family, heartbreak, and the meaning of home.
