Animal Parts

After making a mark with his 2009 debut album, The Trick With Your Heart I'm Learning To Do, highly promising young Toronto, ON-based songsmith Josh Cockerill has adopted the Animal Parts moniker for his second CD. Despite the band name, it's Cockerill's songs and versatile, melodic voice that again occupy centre stage. He is ably abetted by his three bandmates and such guests as Snowblink's Daniela Gesundheit on harmony vocals (the lovely "Always"), Miranda Mulholland (Great Lake Swimmers), Rebecca Hennessy (Hobson's Choice) and Mariel Gonzalez. The disc was recorded by Chris Stringer (Timbre Timbre) and showcases the sonic clarity typical of his work. Cockerill is unafraid of mixing things up stylistically. "Poets" has a slightly ramshackle quality evocative of a Paul Westerberg solo cut (always a good thing) and there's a frisky power-pop feel to "King of Kings." The album's tour-de-force is "I Break Horses." It features cello, trumpet and haunting vocals, and possesses a poetic power to rival that of T.O. peer Justin Rutledge. Similarly epic is album opener "The Trick With Your Heart (prt3)" and the horns- and strings-boosted "What Our Love Is."