The Great Outdoors
Winter
DDG Records
The vision of Adam Nation, and the final in a series recognizing the seasons, Winter is the most successful of the ones I have heard; somehow, I missed Summer.
This 5-song EP provides a crisp summary of winter imagery and moods. Similar in sound to Great Lake Swimmers, Old Reliable, and The Black House, these alt.folkies from East Vancouver create soundscapes that are somber, lush, and melodic.
The rigor of producing a thematically linked set of seventeen songs over the course of less than a year appears to have been healthy for The Great Outdoors. The tracks are focused, lacking extraneous adornment while remaining expansive.
Melisa Devost nicely duets on “This Winter’s Touch,” an update perhaps to “Winter Wonderland”lacking sleigh bells and such. Nickle City Slim’s gruff, rolling vocals provides a counterpoint to Nation on “The Garbage Man Song.”
The lyrical turns of phrase- ice booming in the night, frosted windshields requiring credit cards, country darkness- speak of Canadian experience, making Winter another valued element in the evolution of contemporary folk music.
Donald Teplyske
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