David Morrison

The enigmatic wordplay of Nels Andrews’ beautiful 4th album, Pigeon and the Crow, is a creation possessing many of the same qualities as Midlake and Spheeris records. In the field of literary folk music, Pigeon and the Crow certainly is a winner.

Taylor Ashton, lead vocalist/banjoist with the acclaimed Canadian indie-folk outfit, Fish & Bird, makes his solo debut with The Romantic. Outstanding songwriting and an unforgettable voice imbued with emotional weight.

There are few folk outfits working today as interesting and unpredictable as Canada’s Aerialists. Their new offering ‘Sienna’ is a masterfully performed collection of intriguing, often haunting material.

Just one airing of the five songs present on J.R. Proctor’s EP was evidence enough for me to keep close tabs on his future releases. With such an assured, relaxed sound this should set him well on his way.

I am moved not only by William Prince’s stately songs but also by his eloquent message in the sleeve-notes.  A compelling storytelling songwriter that has justifiably been compared to John Prine, Townes Van Zandt and Kris Kristofferson.

David Morrison catches up with David Francey in Nanaimo, British Columbia where the Ayrshire-born folk icon also put on a great performance, accompanied by acoustic guitar maestro Adam Dobres and lauded traditional fiddler, Pierre Schryer

With a flawless track record to date, Harbour City Concerts bring only the absolute cream of roots talent to Nanaimo, BC… and it really doesn’t get any creamier than the dazzling Lonesome Ace Stringband.

On the beautiful ‘Mirror Moon’, there are many layers to peel away to get to the heart of Malcolm Jack’s uncontrived, cerebral poetry…underlining his locally revered reputation as a latter-day cosmic bard.

Canadian acoustic guitarist Les Finnigan returns with Counterpoint Conundrum, a calming 36 minutes of utterly gorgeous contemporary acoustic guitar music to soothe a fevered brow.

Gently pulsing, pinging and twittering synths, acoustic guitars and Scott Orr’s soft, crystalline voice float through a homemade lo-fi haze.  This analogue approach and the album’s laid-back, dreamy pace mark Worried Mind as a beauteous, melancholy treat.

Aleppo is an important and thought-provoking album.  Yet this fact is amplified enormously when learning that every cent generated by sales of this and all previous releases goes to assist funding the efforts of Doctors Without Borders.

Annie Lou has become one of the true treasures of contemporary Canadian folk music, and the architect of a sequence of albums I cannot recommend highly enough.

“as tiny as the venue and invited audience were, if the significance of the event we’d gathered to witness was mirrored metaphorically, there’d have been thousands of us assembled somewhere like Madison Square Garden.”

On this new collection, The Broken Heart of Everything, the gorgeous, rustic folk melodies and Francey’s lyrical prowess remain as reliably solid as they have been since his 1999 debut, Torn Screen Door.

The Fretless could feasibly be an important group, a cultural force that could, as they definitely intend, reach many uninitiated ears.  It is what happened to me when I saw them live, so what better than a sizzling live album to convert others? Raw and Exciting from start to finish.

This is absolutely primo Canadian roots music, entirely relatable, emotionally rewarding, and if, at the very least, it fails to gain a Songwriter of the Year nomination for the 2019 Juno Awards, it will be both bewildering and an injustice.

David catches up with Roger Dean Young who, after entering semi-retirement from music for many years returns as Roger Dean Young & the Tin Sea with a brand new full-band album, Wrought Iron Will. Music of this quality is just too valuable to remain unheard.

2016 sure deals with some heavy themes, both personal and universal – from a musical perspective, however, this fine roots-rock album is a joyous thing indeed, packed with surging melodies, aching balladry, bona fide anthems and top-notch performances by all involved.