Jon McKiel

'Jon McKiel' (EP stream)

BY Alex HudsonPublished May 26, 2014

Three years since dropping a Tonka War Cloud on us, East Coast indie rock songwriter Jon McKiel has returned with a self-titled EP. Ahead of its release on June 3 through Headless Owl Records, the six-song collection is available to stream on Exclaim.ca.

The record was produced by Jay Crocker at his shed studio in Crousetown, NS. A press release notes that it was made using "an 8-track tape machine, a couple of well-placed microphones, fuzz pedals, and lots of heart."

Opener "New Tracy" begins the EP with a crunchy, distorted rock stomp. From there, "I Know (I Know)" adds a peppy acoustic bounce, "Twin Speaks" is filled with angular six-string quirkiness, and "Accolades" and "Chop Through" recall the moody atmospherics of Chad VanGaalen.

Hear it all below.

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