Dean Drouillard

For an artist so entrenched in the singer-songwriter scene, Dean Drouillard's fourth LP, Double Life, has little difficulty entering foreign territory. When not crafting his music, the Toronto-via-Windsor, ON guitarist has recorded and toured with fellow troubadours Royal Wood, Hannah Georgas, the Barbers (Jill and Matthew) and the Sarahs (Harmer and Slean). With half of the LP comprised of moody, serene instrumentals, Drouillard sounds utterly invigorated and wide-eyed on Double Life. Sprinkling the rest of the album with a vocal delivery that falls between whispery meditation and elegant disinterest, songs like the mumbly Spaghetti Western "Home" and slow-crawler "Out of the Blue" expertly demonstrate Drouillard as an artist testing his deep-rooted understanding of song structures and idea presentation. The general consensus may be that fans of ambling singer-songwriter lore will be turned off by Double Life, but Drouillard somehow finds the obstinacy to make alien cadence and arid pacing sound warm and familiar.