PSA: Gord Downie

Unlike his other solo projects, The Tragically Hip frontman Gordie Downie's new album is really really good. Gordie Downie(and I know it's Gord Downie on the album cover, but seriously, the dude's from Kingston. He's 'Gordie' Downie) and the Country of Miracles' album 'The Grand Bounce' is extremely good after the first couple of listen throughs. It's got the classic Downie language extrapolations without getting too far afield (because '700 foot ceiling' was such a great chorus...), and it presents a more stripped back instrumental approach; sort of like a 'Phantom Power' feel, when the Hip realized everyone knew they could play really well, and they didn't need to showcase it every song.

It's not a Hip copy by any means though. While it is invocative of certain periods, the overall musical profile is very different, and the Country of Miracles are obviously influencing the musical evolution, forcing Downie to approach a lot of the material from a different angle which meshes nicely with his lyrics. The problem with Downie's last two solo projects was that the music sounded like largely Hip songs being down by a band that wasn't, well, the Hip. This is much tighter, more integrated, and is a really nice blend of classic Gordie with a more evolved and differently influenced Gordie.

( Track 5: The Hard Canadian )