Some people might be growing weary of the country/folk/pop genre that artists like Iron and Wine, Andrew Bird, and the entire Monsters of Folk crew fall into. I am not some people. What can I say? I have a soft spot for anything that sounds like the lovechild of Bob Dylan and the Beatles. I also have a soft spot for Canadian rockers. (Who doesn’t, these days?)
Enter Jason Collett. This lanky rocker used to play part-time with Broken Social Scene back in the day. Much like your average folk singer, Collett croons about love and loss. Rat a Tat Tat is Collett’s fourth solo album, and its songs are accordingly polished and catchy. But they’re also fun, emanating a sense of lightness that other folk artists tend to lack. You’d never be able to guess that Collett recently turned 40.
Pitchfork reviews:
“The modesty of Collett’s ambitions is evident in the way he doesn’t seem to mind being stuck beneath some of rock’s more omnipresent influences … Still, he deserves loads of credit, particularly considering his folk milieu, for almost always putting the song in front of the self.”