Mar. 24, 2010 -
Issue #753: Zion I
Greg MacPherson
Reverberating, staccato chords kick in over the opening drums on "First Class," the opening track of Winnipeg songwriter Greg MacPherson's latest album since 2006's Sun Beats Down. A second, math-y guitar starts spinning needly lines over top and the song immediately feels ragged but right, MacPherson laying out a lyric that questions the world around him, never satisfied but always looking. Elsewhere, the title track abandons the nearly claustrophobic chopping of the opener in favour of wide open, slow and chugging verses coupled with a soaring chorus, while "Big Skies" channels a little Blue Rodeo (but steeled with a punk edge) and the six-minute "Visitor" brings the record down and out with more contemplations delivered over an airy series of arpeggiated chords that are left raw and exposed with the buzzing of MacPherson's guitar providing subtle accompaniment in the background. All told, the album is loose and meditative, but riddled with a sense of urgency that comes partly from MacPherson's edgy delivery and partly from the solid batch of songs that he's turned in.
Greg MacPherson plays the Haven Social Club on April 1.
Greg MacPherson
Mr. Invitation
(smallman)
New comments for this entry have been turned off and any existing ones are hidden. We apologize for any inconvenience.
