David Celia

Toronto, ON troubadour Celia may be better known in the UK (he's about to perform at Glastonbury) than Canada, but this fine third album deserves to boost his domestic profile. His musical eclecticism encompasses Beatles-esque pop and singer-songwriter styles, and he's equally adept at both. For instance, he goes straight from the country folk, pedal steel, fiddle-driven title track to the bouncy, horn-fuelled, pure pop of "Sergio," while the strummed ukulele on "Severine" gives it a music hall feel. The country romp of "I'm Not Texan" showcases Celia's sense of humour ("my parents are Croatian and I drive a Honda, I'm the furthest thing from bein' the real deal"). Canadian comparison points include Hawksley Workman and Danny Michel, and Celia's talent has attracted A-list players. Those adding effective accompaniment to his sweetly melodic vocals include Joan Besen (Prairie Oyster), Don Kerr, Burke Carroll and Cleave Anderson (Blue Rodeo), Gurf Morlix (Lucinda Williams), Ben Mink (k.d. lang), Mia Sheard and Kurt Swinghammer. He tried; he succeeded.