Little Miss Moffat

Little Miss Moffat’s Miss Canada is a pleasant, laid-back stab at folk-infused country. While the disc boasts the attendance of more Halifax mainstays than a Super Friendz reunion show (Joel Plaskett, Guthries’ Gabe Minikin, Friendz’s Charles Austin, and Heavy Meadows’ Ben Ross) the focus remains steadfast on Moffat’s songs. Her subdued delivery, along with the instrumental prowess of her contributors, gives the disc a remarkably accomplished sound. This feeling peaks in album closer "Who Cooks For You.” Without a doubt the album’s highlight, the song is a dark and beautifully textured hybrid of folk and bluegrass. Featuring the fantastically sparse banjo plucking of Chris Luedecke (Old Man Luedecke), the song offers the kind of mysterious tones usually reserved for 60-year-old murder ballads. Much like Whiskeytown’s "Dancing With The Women At The Bar” or Neko Case’s "Blacklisted,” the track is a haunting and accomplished number that unintentionally eclipses the rest of the disc. Probably the best song to come out of Halifax this year, "Who Cooks For You?” closes Miss Canada with the feeling that Moffat could deliver some truly important music in her future.