New music

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This article was published 25/05/2017 (3383 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

POP / ROCK

Amelia Curran
Watershed (Six Shooter Records)

“Nobody listening if nobody talks…”

So goes a line from Try, the lilting, bluesy ninth track on St. John’s singer/songwriter Amelia Curran’s recently released eighth album. While it may seem a self-evident axiom, the phase is an accurate summary of this record’s overarching theme.

Watershed arrives as Curran has established herself as an advocate for mental-health issues in Newfoundland and Labrador. Two years ago, she co-founded an organization called It’s Mental, which lobbies for better mental-health services and also reaches out to those who may require them. She also recently completed a documentary film, called Gone, which addresses the loss of two close friends to suicide and reveals her own struggle with depression and anxiety.

Naturally enough, the 11 songs on this album are suffused with the message that love and togetherness will conquer anguish and pain. But Watershed is far from a downer.

With her regular touring band — guitarist Dean Drouillard, bassist Devon Henderson and drummer Jordan Van Tassell — Curran (who co-produced) expresses her feelings in a fully realized folk/rock setting. Album opener Move a Mile features a ringing guitar line that just won’t quit, even as she outlines the crippling black dog of depression and sings of shadows that come for her; Gravity practically bursts with 1960s-ish guitar pop energy; while No More Quiet is as soulful a rant about sexism in the music biz as you’ll ever hear, especially when singer Shakura S’Aida lets loose with a Stone-ish wail as the song comes to a close.

Give this a listen. And keep talking. ★★★1/2 out of five

Stream: Move a Milem, Gravity,You Have Got Each Other

Amelia Curran plays May 25 at the Park Theatre.

— John Kendle

 

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ROOTS / COUNTRY

Fastball
Step Into Light (33 1/3)

Austin’s Fastball haven’t been the most prolific of bands — they have only released a half dozen albums since their formation in 1995 — but with the new Step Into Light they make a solid case for less is more. Their brand of straightforward, adult pop music is of the sort that easily bends your ear and heart at the same time. The trio (Tony Scalzo on vocals, bass and guitar, Joey Shuffield on drums and Miles Zuniga vocals and guitar) has a keen sense of what works in a song and each track has an intuitive heft to it that is undeniably grand.

Album opener We’re On Our Way is one of the more flamboyantly punchy tracks here and leads perfectly into the delightful Best Friend. The soaring chorus and uplifting synth riffs make this the true album scene-setter. Fastball gets full points for their vocals as well. The intricate blending of harmonies on tracks such as I Will Never Let You Down, Love Comes in Waves and the sparkling Just Another Dream are sing-a-long magnets for anyone keen on carpool karaoke. Both Behind The Sun and Step Into Light are built on transcendent acoustic guitar motifs and nuanced vocals that, while speaking to a more singer/songwriter bent, are still gracefully intoxicating in their delivery. Extra points to all concerned for the tossing in a spontaneous instrumental break (Tanzania) and an ode to The First Lady of American Cinema Lillian Gish.

Step Into Light is the sort of album you will not get tired of playing on repeat and indeed pays further dividends each time the needle hits the grooves and will likely be our first pick album of the summer 2017. ★★★★★ out of five

Stream: Love Comes In Waves, Best Friend

Fastball plays Club Regent Event Centre June 15th.

— Jeff Monk

https://youtu.be/lwrbPoq2uc4

 

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JAZZ

Alex Goodman
Second Act (Lyte Records)

Guitarist Alex Goodman is originally from Toronto, but has been working in New York recently. He has won accolades in the Canadian jazz scene, which include a Juno nomination and first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival International Guitar Competition. This soon-to-be-released album (officially out June 23rd) features a group of perhaps somewhat lesser known New York musicians such as Matt Marantz on saxophone, Eden Ladin on piano, Rick Rosato bass and Jimmy Macbride drums. They don’t sound “lesser known” here – they have a powerful presence and swing hard.

The overall mood is straight-ahead jazz with driving rhythm and a “take no prisoners” approach to solos. There is variety in structure and style here and Goodman’s compositions have room for fine energy and risk-taking. Energy is a feature I really admire, as some releases, while being really well-played, are ultimately boring. No boredom here. I hadn’t heard Goodman for several years since his last album, but the development and synergy with this band is apparent. There are ballads here as well as the rhythmic sounds I have mentioned. All in all a treat — jazz that is accessible and that has a very strong groove. ★★★★ out of five

Stream: Questions, Departure

— Keith Black

https://youtu.be/zqePgY6Z1O4

 

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CLASSICAL

Many are the Wonders
Ora (Harmonia Mundi)

This new release by Harmonia Mundi pays equal tribute to English Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis as it does to contemporary artists inscribing choral works in the 21st century. Conductor Suzi Digby leads a cappella ensemble Ora through 24 vocal selections featuring Tallis’ psalm settings from Archbishop Parker’s Psalter, interspersed with new works created by six modern composers in direct response to Tallis’ music. Also included is the late Steven Stucky’s O sacrum convivium (from Three New Motets In Memoriam Thomas Tallis), who died last February during the making of this album.

Highlights include Frank Ferko’s Reflection on Thomas Tallis’ if ye love me, inspired by Tallis’ beloved anthem that shimmers like moonlight. Richard Allain’s antiphonal Videte miraculum also satisfies with its falling, overlapping phrases before eventually slipping into plainchant. Harry Escott’s O Light of Light evokes the simplicity of Tallis’ famous motet Spem In Alium, while Alec Roth’s Night Prayer juxtaposes Latin and English text inspired by the original chant Te lucis ante terminum.

Ken Burton’s unusual title track Many are the wonders straddles both English cathedral and gospel-flavoured worlds, a heavily stylized offering that nevertheless bears testament to rich new choral traditions firmly rooted in the past. ★★★1/2 out of five

— Holly Harris