Yellow Jacket Avenger

Cult hero Geoffrey Pye possesses a unique songwriting mind and with Double Nature, the former Halifax resident puts his timeless weirdo aesthetic to the test with vividly flying colours. Echoes of David Bowie and Talking Heads float through Yellow Jacket Avenger’s melding of acoustic and synthetic sounds, but his electro-folk is earnestly his own, not some kitschy throwback. Musical eras collide on songs like "Undercover” and "The Special Fate,” each of which revel in glimmers of Roxy Music and nerd-hop, with Pye’s intimate crooning floating above cool, alien-flavoured soundtracks. Pye’s quirky sense of humour is mostly veiled here, as the general tone of Double Nature is sincere, almost brooding. There are few unquestionably upbeat songs before "Seeds” appears, marrying a banjo-like plunk with drum machine beats. That said, there’s great conviction to every well-articulated song by Yellow Jacket Avenger on Double Nature, a record that Wolf Parade and Spoon fans in particular should adore.