Vic Chesnutt

Returning to Montreal with Fugazi's Guy Picciotto in tow, Vic Chesnutt makes another bold pronouncement of his artistic prowess with the soulful, stirring At the Cut. Under filmmaker Jem Cohen's direction, Chesnutt established ties with Constellation's A Sliver Mt. Zion and the Hotel2Tango studio to create his 2007 masterpiece, North Star Deserter. Though Cohen excelled at drawing upon Chesnutt's emotional reserves, his absence this time left the songwriter and a road-acquainted band to their own impressive devices. While tricky to define, At the Cut intangibly surpasses its predecessor with its unrestrained urgency and intuitive calm. Songs like "Coward" and "Philip Guston" writhe with savage emotional resolve, just as "When the Bottom Fell Out," a stark, live-off-the-floor piece featuring Chesnutt alone, captivates. The raw openness of At the Cut, with songs Chesnutt composed up to 25 years ago mingling with those written mere moments before being recorded, is startlingly inspiring. Read an interview with Vic Chesnutt at exclaim.ca.