Over the past few years Canadian singer/songwriters have become increasingly prominent, and albums from Kathleen Edwards, Oh Susanna and others have graced many critics ‘best of the year’ list - ‘All of our Names’ looks likely to continue this trend as it excels in every area and improves on her excellent 2000 debut ‘You Were Here’.
Primarily recorded at home, this album has a warmth and intimacy that you don’t often hear, it sounds obviously looser and more relaxed than most studio discs – it’s not that it isn’t polished or disciplined, but there’s a refreshing honesty and edge to the recording that makes it stand out from the pack.
This approach pays off best on ‘Dandelions in Bullet Holes’ which is a dreamy, gentle 6 minute track that while being instrumentally rich with strings, guitars and percussion, it’s the understated and relaxed approach that really makes the track work and creates space for the strong lyrics – it’s a great track and the centrepiece of the disc.
Overall the songs address broader issues than most singer/songwriter discs, and rather than an album full of personal songs, the issues covered here are mainly based on the human experience. This gives the disc a fairly upbeat and bright tone, but this is tempered by a few ‘darker’ tracks, notably the excellent ‘Greeting Card Aisle’ and ‘Took it All’. Other highlights include the radio friendly songs ‘Silver Road’ and ‘Almost’, these are up-tempo and instantly accessible, but both have an individual, slightly quirky feel that raise them above much of the similar material that is out there.
She’s a strong writer, with a versatile and distinctive voice and there’s little anyone could criticise across the 11 tracks – her vocals are expressive, the writing very strong and the musical backing subtle but with lots of detail.
This is an excellent, if slightly idiosyncratic singer/songwriter album that rightly deserves its place amongst the better discs of the past few years, Canadian or otherwise. Recommended.

£13.49