Jim Guthrie

Nearly ten years removed from his last proper full-length (2003's Juno-nominated Now, More Than Ever), Jim Guthrie is finally back in the game, not that he hasn't been around. From scoring films and videogames to performing with about a zillion other bands (Royal City, Islands, Human Highway, etc.), Guthrie has been something of a hot commodity in the Canadian scene. And it's easy to see why. With Takes Time, the Toronto-based, Guelph-bred multi-instrumentalist has created a masterwork of stately, intelligent pop, at once gleefully anachronistic and deeply satisfying. Over the span of 11 tracks, Guthrie traverses a variety of musical terrain — from the spacious alt-country of "Difference a Day Makes" and unabashed yacht rockiness of "Never Poor" to the album's stunning, Gonzales-esque centerpiece, "Bring on the Night" — yet each song is unified by the creator's obsessive eye for detail. While both lyrically and melodically Guthrie mines beauty from simplicity, this is an album full of bizarre, charming details — small gifts that only reveal themselves upon multiple listens. From the honking Geese that begin "The Sound of Wanting More" to the cheeky background chant of "be assertive" in "Don't Be Torn," which will have you warmly remembering Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" for the first time in years, Takes Time is unmistakably the product of an artist working on his own clock. And that's a good thing. Sometimes these things take time.