He's in his early 20s, he's a drummer in a punk band (Minnow), and this is his second great acoustic album. On his guitar, a la Woody Guthrie, is written: "This machine kills fascists," and Guthrie is an apparent influence -- moody, topical, spellbinding.

 The album includes musical input from Jeff Bird (Cowboy Junkies), Stephen Fearing, Lewis Melville (Skydiggers, Rheostatics) and Gavin Brown (Big Sugar, Skydiggers), and is produced by Black Cabbage's Nick Craine. There's a few well-placed vocal harmonies by Michele Thorsen and Elizabeth Powell. "Almost Gone," one of the more well-produced songs, features tabla, accordion, upright bass, banjo, harmonium, french horn, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, flute and recorder (yet it doesn't sound cluttered).

Lyrically, my favourite song is "Over the Lightpost," a song written about a woman who started the German Communist Party in the 1930s: "Karl Marx was a hero to her / because he learned how to see / over the lightpost / over this city." (I admit I prefered the song live when the word 'Karl' was understood, and not needed.) It's the kind of stuff dreams are made of. Musically, the very punchy "Hopelessly High" is memorable, mostly due to the light touch of Robin Lynn's right hand on the piano, Elizabeth Powell's harmony vocal, and Aaron's faint screaming in the chorus.

review by Gabino Travas