The Crackling

Kenton Loewen takes you places. In the opening track of his first album, the Vancouver, BC songwriter responsible for the Crackling travels from fond nostalgia to guitar-grinding rage in three minutes flat. When he keens, "oh my dear, oh my love" at the end of the first verse, his falsetto perfectly articulates the emotional tenor of longing and loss. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for a well-placed burst of mawkish organ. A trained jazz drummer who's played with West coast indie luminaries such as Dan Mangan and Mother Mother, Loewen has blossomed into an expressive songwriter with the ability to create evolving melodies and intense arrangements. Guitars and organ, solid vocal harmonies and the odd gust of trumpet support Loewen's warm, slightly gritty vocals. From the unsettling harmonics of "Reticence" and "Of Deceit" to the more sentimental timbre of "First Drop" and "China Shop," this impressive debut traverses plenty of musical ground.