Jon Kastner

It took a few years but former Doughboy/All Systems Go luminary John Kastner has finally given the solo record a go with Have You Seen Lucky? And he’s certainly managed to stack the deck in his favour name-wise. Members of Rush, Bionic, Voivod, Fear, Blue Rodeo, Lemonheads, All and more appear in some form or another on one or more of these 12 tunes dedicated to personal introspection and teenage-worthy rhyming couplets. Melancholy and lilting, the majority of this album plays out as some sort of tired duty more than an excited opportunity. In some cases, this would work to extraordinary results but here everything just seems to meander along. Typical pop structure plays out predictably and even some of his most infectious harmonies (of which there are many) seem tainted with a lackadaisical "I just wanna go to bed” mentality. Even the photos depict a weary Kastner with head solemnly placed in hands as if the recording process has drained every bit of his soul. And hey, if it was that soul-crushing to make, imagine how it is to endure.