The latest from the increasingly prolific and introspective G-Mac hits hard out of the gate and rarely lets up over the propulsive ten tracks that make up Fireball. This dark party gets rocking from the get-go with “1995,” and cranks it up a notch with “Goes Like This,” complete with “woos” and a ripping guitar solo. The title track itself takes a step back, locking you into a dirty groove, while Greg pontificates on the particulars of a painful, hungover walk of shame (or something). “Motel Hotel,” is a twisted little blast of rock n roll, perhaps paying a brief, late night visit to a couple down the hall from the shirtless protagonist of “Hotel Motel” from 2005’s Night Flares. “Sandhand” is one of only a couple brooding numbers on the disc, but the following “Forcefield” brings us back to the “Party at Greg’s” vibe from Disintegration Blues, bursting with beers about to be cracked. Buried towards the end of the disc, “New-jazz Trio” is the highlight here, a beautiful portrait of someone lost, but not forgotten, inside the heart of the continent. It is reminiscent of the best stuff off Good Times Coming Back Again, while at the same time demonstrating how far MacPherson has come as a songwriter since those early days. As someone who has been listening attentively since Balanced on a Pin, and still occasionally busts out Year of the Record Break, Fireball is an album that satisfies upon repeated listens, and lives up to the potential spread, in various consistency, across all MacPherson’s previous releases. Nice, G-Mac. Real nice. A pure beauty, even. (Disintegration, gregmacpherson.com) Sheldon Birnie