Haunter’s Rivers & Rust is one of this year’s most anticipated local releases. After five years of gigging around the city and beyond, expectations were high for this debut. And it does not disappoint. From the first spin, the album as a whole, and the individual songwriting, pull you into a space that is both new and refreshingly familiar. That Haunter have found a perfect home on Disintegration Records comes as no surprise, as when I’m listening to this album, I keep getting flashes of old Winnipeg tapes, 7” EPs, and short run CDs of the 1990s; a taste of the Bonaduces here, a flash of Painted Thin there. Maybe just the tiniest hint of Red Fisher somewhere in between? Despite these subtle references, Rivers & Rust really does stand on its own. From opening track “July, 2005” to “Where I’m Calling From,” a serene duet with Keri Latimer, and through to the closing “Anthem For A Broken City,” this album is well written, beautifully put together, and one that is sure to show up on Top 10 lists for 2013. (Disintegration, hauntermusic.tumblr.com) Sheldon Birnie