1. The Sadies
2. Basia Bulat
3. Jason Collett
4. Ghostkeeper
5. Baby Eagle
6. Jim Bryson and the Weakerthans
7. Old Man Luedecke
8. The Tallest Man on Earth
9. Daniel Fred & Julie
10. Mountains and the Trees
1. The Sadies Darker Circles (Outside)
Staying on top of the Sadies' progress over the past decade has been a wild ride. Aside from an endless string of collaborations, each album has edged closer to psychedelic country-rock perfection. The biggest obstacle has always been raising their songwriting game to the same level as their instrumental prowess, and that has finally been accomplished on Darker Circles. The richly detailed storytelling of "Tell Her What I Said" and "Violet and Jeffrey Lee" hasn't come out of nowhere, but carrying it through an entire album's duration is something new for a band that until now has always been more comfortable on stage than in the studio. Singer/guitarist Dallas Good admits that the band's role in several projects over the past few years played a large part in getting he and his brother Travis to focus on their own songwriting.
"In the past we'd always put so much emphasis on doing old-time country stuff, and by the time we did the [Country Club] album with John Doe, we were blue in the face with it," he says. "At the same time, we did the Tales of the Rat Fink soundtrack, which kind of purged our aggressive instrumental side. Working on a bunch of these albums that didn't require lyrics really allowed us, for the first time, to have our own songs totally finished before we recorded them."
Good adds that the first half of Darker Circles especially exemplifies an impressionistic writing style he hopes the band will continue to develop. "After making however many records we've made, there are certain sounds that become comfortable to gravitate toward. It's great that we've gotten to a point that whenever one of us feels like stepping out of our safety zone, the other guys won't glare back like three wizards trying to turn him into a frog."
Jason Schneider
2. Basia Bulat Heart Of My Own (Secret City)
Basia Bulat may have augmented the stable, old-soul emotion of her 2007 folk-pop debut with a rumbling, rollicking edge on Heart of My Own, but her gracious profundity remains. Heart-filled musings on home, such as the stellar "Gold Rush," almost exude the raw force of the great Canadian outdoors, a big inspiration for this record. The arresting vocal and autoharp simplicity of "The Shore" demonstrates the fundamental talent at work, one so transcendent that it hints at a timeless soulfulness that Bulat is still at the outset of channelling.
Nicole Villeneuve
3. Jason Collett Rat a Tat Tat (Arts & Crafts)
With a wink and a dirty grin, Jason Collett cranked all the dials on his fifth solo album. This time around, his raspy drawl is a little twangier and his retro detailing a little glossier. Although he pays homage to myriad bygone musical styles, Collett adds a tart twist that turns familiar echoes into fresh sounds. Whether it's blowing out the speakers with screeching electric guitars or turning on the charm with its sparkling pop melodies, Rat a Tat Tat has enough irreverent groove to get a nation on its feet.
Rachel Sanders
4. Ghostkeeper (Flemish Eye)
Captain Beefheart and Stephen Malkmus jamming together is one way to describe the music of Shane Ghostkeeper. Another is Robert Johnson, if he had grown up in remote northern Alberta. No other album this year deconstructed the blues as effectively as this second effort from Ghostkeeper. Using basic tracks recorded in stairwells, parking garages and warehouses, they crafted a 30-minute blast of irresistible anarchy. But it's the underlying meticulousness of its construction that further illuminates what a visionary Ghostkeeper is.
Jason Schneider
5. Baby Eagle Dog Weather (You've Changed)
Previous albums have been promising, but Dog Weather is a true game-changer that elevates the field. Renowned for his sharply written songs in Constantines, Steven Lambke's exploration of rural life here bursts up from the page like the richest narratives of your finer novelists. That, coupled with the best balance of folk and punk he has crafted ― thanks to a refined approach to singing and a killer band, captured gorgeously ― helps Baby Eagle's Dog Weather stand as a wondrous achievement.
Vish Khanna
6. Jim Bryson and the Weakerthans The Falcon Lake Incident (Maple)
There has always been something wintry about the oft-melancholy material of Jim Bryson. Makes perfect sense that he'd record an album by a frozen lake in Manitoba in January. He enlisted the assistance of the Weakerthans, and the result is a consistently excellent work that confirms Bryson as one of our best songsmiths. His bandmates get equal billing here, and their empathetic contributions add musical depth to Bryson's compositions. It may have been recorded in chilly climes, but there's real aural warmth here.
Kerry Doole
7. Old Man Luedecke My Hands are on Fire and Other Love Songs (Black Hen)
The rosy-cheeked melodies of Old Man Luedecke's third album open up the kitchen door and invite you in to put your feet up. Once you're comfortable though, they bend your ear with some surprisingly biting observations about love, life and the appalling state of the world. The Nova Scotia singer-songwriter lays down plenty of hot licks on his signature banjo, but the fiddles and vocals of American Tim O'Brien give Luedecke's music a stronger bluegrass flavour than we've heard from him before.
Rachel Sanders
8. The Tallest Man on Earth The Wild Hunt (Dead Oceans)
Thankfully, someone forgot to tell Kristian Matsson that the race to become "the new Dylan" ended long before he was born. On The Wild Hunt, the 27-year-old Swede, still armed with only an acoustic guitar, has proved that his 2008 debut album, Shallow Grave, wasn't a fluke. With a lyrical dexterity to match the driving force of his guitar playing, Matsson's performance is invigorating from start to finish. But what is most impressive is that nothing about Matsson ― apart from his ludicrous pseudonym ― is a put-on. While so many aspiring folkies are chasing the past, the Tallest Man On Earth is leading folk into the 21st century.
Jason Schneider
9. Daniel Fred & Julie (You've Changed)
Pairing three of Canada's indie stars, few would have guessed they'd produce a record of old-timey folk tunes. After all, Attack in Black's Daniel Romano, Julie Doiron and Fred Squire (formerly of Shotgun and Jaybird) are known more for fuzzed-out rockers than finger-picking. Gathering in Sackville, NB, the group combined sparse, acoustic arrangements with mostly public domain lyrics, creating a record that keeps a foot firmly planted in the present while hearkening back to Canada's folk music roots.
Ian Gormely
10. Mountains and the Trees I Made this for You (Independent)
Beneath the grandiose stage name is humble Jon Janes, and the Newfoundlander's tender and disarming inflections have won him a devotional following that speaks to his undeniable charm. Building on the momentum of a much-praised EP, the beguiling simplicity of Janes first full-length studio record makes quite an impression. The gentle mingling of string and wind instruments with pastoral dewy-eyed narratives draws the listener into an intimate one-way conversation where Janes has you believing that every song was really crafted just for you.
Nereida Fernandes
2. Basia Bulat
3. Jason Collett
4. Ghostkeeper
5. Baby Eagle
6. Jim Bryson and the Weakerthans
7. Old Man Luedecke
8. The Tallest Man on Earth
9. Daniel Fred & Julie
10. Mountains and the Trees
1. The Sadies Darker Circles (Outside)
Staying on top of the Sadies' progress over the past decade has been a wild ride. Aside from an endless string of collaborations, each album has edged closer to psychedelic country-rock perfection. The biggest obstacle has always been raising their songwriting game to the same level as their instrumental prowess, and that has finally been accomplished on Darker Circles. The richly detailed storytelling of "Tell Her What I Said" and "Violet and Jeffrey Lee" hasn't come out of nowhere, but carrying it through an entire album's duration is something new for a band that until now has always been more comfortable on stage than in the studio. Singer/guitarist Dallas Good admits that the band's role in several projects over the past few years played a large part in getting he and his brother Travis to focus on their own songwriting.
"In the past we'd always put so much emphasis on doing old-time country stuff, and by the time we did the [Country Club] album with John Doe, we were blue in the face with it," he says. "At the same time, we did the Tales of the Rat Fink soundtrack, which kind of purged our aggressive instrumental side. Working on a bunch of these albums that didn't require lyrics really allowed us, for the first time, to have our own songs totally finished before we recorded them."
Good adds that the first half of Darker Circles especially exemplifies an impressionistic writing style he hopes the band will continue to develop. "After making however many records we've made, there are certain sounds that become comfortable to gravitate toward. It's great that we've gotten to a point that whenever one of us feels like stepping out of our safety zone, the other guys won't glare back like three wizards trying to turn him into a frog."
Jason Schneider
2. Basia Bulat Heart Of My Own (Secret City)
Basia Bulat may have augmented the stable, old-soul emotion of her 2007 folk-pop debut with a rumbling, rollicking edge on Heart of My Own, but her gracious profundity remains. Heart-filled musings on home, such as the stellar "Gold Rush," almost exude the raw force of the great Canadian outdoors, a big inspiration for this record. The arresting vocal and autoharp simplicity of "The Shore" demonstrates the fundamental talent at work, one so transcendent that it hints at a timeless soulfulness that Bulat is still at the outset of channelling.
Nicole Villeneuve
3. Jason Collett Rat a Tat Tat (Arts & Crafts)
With a wink and a dirty grin, Jason Collett cranked all the dials on his fifth solo album. This time around, his raspy drawl is a little twangier and his retro detailing a little glossier. Although he pays homage to myriad bygone musical styles, Collett adds a tart twist that turns familiar echoes into fresh sounds. Whether it's blowing out the speakers with screeching electric guitars or turning on the charm with its sparkling pop melodies, Rat a Tat Tat has enough irreverent groove to get a nation on its feet.
Rachel Sanders
4. Ghostkeeper (Flemish Eye)
Captain Beefheart and Stephen Malkmus jamming together is one way to describe the music of Shane Ghostkeeper. Another is Robert Johnson, if he had grown up in remote northern Alberta. No other album this year deconstructed the blues as effectively as this second effort from Ghostkeeper. Using basic tracks recorded in stairwells, parking garages and warehouses, they crafted a 30-minute blast of irresistible anarchy. But it's the underlying meticulousness of its construction that further illuminates what a visionary Ghostkeeper is.
Jason Schneider
5. Baby Eagle Dog Weather (You've Changed)
Previous albums have been promising, but Dog Weather is a true game-changer that elevates the field. Renowned for his sharply written songs in Constantines, Steven Lambke's exploration of rural life here bursts up from the page like the richest narratives of your finer novelists. That, coupled with the best balance of folk and punk he has crafted ― thanks to a refined approach to singing and a killer band, captured gorgeously ― helps Baby Eagle's Dog Weather stand as a wondrous achievement.
Vish Khanna
6. Jim Bryson and the Weakerthans The Falcon Lake Incident (Maple)
There has always been something wintry about the oft-melancholy material of Jim Bryson. Makes perfect sense that he'd record an album by a frozen lake in Manitoba in January. He enlisted the assistance of the Weakerthans, and the result is a consistently excellent work that confirms Bryson as one of our best songsmiths. His bandmates get equal billing here, and their empathetic contributions add musical depth to Bryson's compositions. It may have been recorded in chilly climes, but there's real aural warmth here.
Kerry Doole
7. Old Man Luedecke My Hands are on Fire and Other Love Songs (Black Hen)
The rosy-cheeked melodies of Old Man Luedecke's third album open up the kitchen door and invite you in to put your feet up. Once you're comfortable though, they bend your ear with some surprisingly biting observations about love, life and the appalling state of the world. The Nova Scotia singer-songwriter lays down plenty of hot licks on his signature banjo, but the fiddles and vocals of American Tim O'Brien give Luedecke's music a stronger bluegrass flavour than we've heard from him before.
Rachel Sanders
8. The Tallest Man on Earth The Wild Hunt (Dead Oceans)
Thankfully, someone forgot to tell Kristian Matsson that the race to become "the new Dylan" ended long before he was born. On The Wild Hunt, the 27-year-old Swede, still armed with only an acoustic guitar, has proved that his 2008 debut album, Shallow Grave, wasn't a fluke. With a lyrical dexterity to match the driving force of his guitar playing, Matsson's performance is invigorating from start to finish. But what is most impressive is that nothing about Matsson ― apart from his ludicrous pseudonym ― is a put-on. While so many aspiring folkies are chasing the past, the Tallest Man On Earth is leading folk into the 21st century.
Jason Schneider
9. Daniel Fred & Julie (You've Changed)
Pairing three of Canada's indie stars, few would have guessed they'd produce a record of old-timey folk tunes. After all, Attack in Black's Daniel Romano, Julie Doiron and Fred Squire (formerly of Shotgun and Jaybird) are known more for fuzzed-out rockers than finger-picking. Gathering in Sackville, NB, the group combined sparse, acoustic arrangements with mostly public domain lyrics, creating a record that keeps a foot firmly planted in the present while hearkening back to Canada's folk music roots.
Ian Gormely
10. Mountains and the Trees I Made this for You (Independent)
Beneath the grandiose stage name is humble Jon Janes, and the Newfoundlander's tender and disarming inflections have won him a devotional following that speaks to his undeniable charm. Building on the momentum of a much-praised EP, the beguiling simplicity of Janes first full-length studio record makes quite an impression. The gentle mingling of string and wind instruments with pastoral dewy-eyed narratives draws the listener into an intimate one-way conversation where Janes has you believing that every song was really crafted just for you.
Nereida Fernandes
