Richard Laviolette & The Hollow Hooves

One of Canada's heaviest young songwriters, Richard Laviolette may embody folk music for an underground following but his rock band's album is a remarkably powerful accomplishment. As a musician, Laviolette is a rare kind of romantic; he writes love songs, yes, but only in the sense that he's an outspoken idealist. Laviolette doesn't muse about personal affairs of the heart but takes the idea of changing minds personally. The Hollow Hooves are a gifted band, expertly making post-punk progressions sound deceptively primitive while enabling Laviolette's old-soul voice to wax passionate about societal ills. It's too reductive to call him a protest singer because the lyrics and metaphors employed in "Stop Dancing," "Your Body Your Love" and "Sincerely, Liza (Bucket Song)" are simply too complex and artful to pigeonhole. With a Crazy Horse-meets-Fugazi sound and uncommonly thoughtful lyricism, Richard Laviolette and the Hollow Hooves are a beacon, a band to seriously believe in.