"Playing dominos in the general store / Ain't nobody playing them games no more" sings Jerry Leger plaintively, as fiddle notes all but weep in the background, on "Burchell Lake." The Toronto folk rocker is a yesteryear yearning troubadour on that must-listen track and many others from his new album Time Out for Tomorrow.
What's more, the tone and style of Leger's music here hungrily harken back to Bob Dylan, circa Blood on the Tracks. "Canvas of Gold," for instance, boasts moaning guitar and the downtrodden saunter of his backing band's rhythm section, as Leger juxtaposes sooty ashtrays with the artistic treasures of the song's namesake via his reedy singing.
Leger's other Dylan-worthy turns of phrase include a wish to become the book his lady is reading (and be "tough to put down") over the sturdy rhythms of "I Would." Then there's his astute observation that hating heartache can make you feel alive on "Tell a Lie."
While Leger by no means reinvents the wheel on Time Out for Tomorrow, he does admirably keep it turning (or, more aptly, keeps Dylan's rolling stone a rollin'). It's not as ambitious an LP as those released by his apparent muses, or by Leger himself in 2017 (the double album Nonsense and Heartache that he put out then was a sprawling highlight of the year). Regardless, Time Out for Tomorrow is a thoroughly catchy, beautifully crafted folk rock record that's more than worth your time.
(Latent)What's more, the tone and style of Leger's music here hungrily harken back to Bob Dylan, circa Blood on the Tracks. "Canvas of Gold," for instance, boasts moaning guitar and the downtrodden saunter of his backing band's rhythm section, as Leger juxtaposes sooty ashtrays with the artistic treasures of the song's namesake via his reedy singing.
Leger's other Dylan-worthy turns of phrase include a wish to become the book his lady is reading (and be "tough to put down") over the sturdy rhythms of "I Would." Then there's his astute observation that hating heartache can make you feel alive on "Tell a Lie."
While Leger by no means reinvents the wheel on Time Out for Tomorrow, he does admirably keep it turning (or, more aptly, keeps Dylan's rolling stone a rollin'). It's not as ambitious an LP as those released by his apparent muses, or by Leger himself in 2017 (the double album Nonsense and Heartache that he put out then was a sprawling highlight of the year). Regardless, Time Out for Tomorrow is a thoroughly catchy, beautifully crafted folk rock record that's more than worth your time.