Ridley Bent

When singer-songwriter Bent burst onto the scene with his 2005 debut, Blam, he turned ears with a fusion of rock, roots and hip-hop that elicited Buck 65 comparisons. The beat references and beats have been buried now, and this third album is firmly planted in the country camp. There are plenty of songs about drinking, fast cars and foxy babes ("Good Lookin' Country") here. And there's nothing wrong with that stylistic switch when you do it as well as Bent. It's working too, as country radio quickly jumped on this album's first single, "I Can't Turn My Back On The Bottle." Producer John MacArthur Ellis (Dustin Bentall, Jane Siberry) has a clear, uncluttered sound, guitar ace Luke Doucet guests on "Square Your Hat" and fiddle and female backing vocals mesh nicely on the rompin' "Yukon Belle." Bent has a robust, convincing vocal style, as demonstrated by a fine cover of the George Jones classic "She Thinks I Still Care." This is a bright light on the oft-dull landscape of conventional Canadian country.