Don Brownrigg

Newfoundland’s Don Brownrigg lays his old soul to tape on this gorgeous collection that reveals great songwriting craft and taste, in terms of production. A young man who now calls Halifax home, Brownrigg enlists some top-tier (though unheralded) talent like Benn Ross, Jim Bryson and Jenn Grant to bolster his music, but he really didn’t need to. There is enough promise and talent in Brownrigg’s voice to hold his own, as he comes across as a less oblique M. Ward, writing pensive, introspective songs that contain a quiet dignity. He sounds wise beyond his years on "In it” and "These A.M. Times,” recalling a ghostly Daniel Lanois, both as a singer and as a sonic manipulator. The phrasing on "About Her” is gorgeous, tapping into the precise atmosphere of a multi-layered mix of accompanying music and "Time Moves On” plays at the stern romanticism of Gordon Lightfoot before Tanya Davis sets the record straight with blunt, comic rhythm. A pleasant surprise, Don Brownrigg has gracefully composed a wonderful album with Wander Songs.