Remember Polaroid photographs? Warm, intimate little snapshots that captured a moment in time and hinted at a bigger story just outside of the confines of their dimpled white frames. Peter Katz’s most recent collection of songs is kind of the aural equivalent of that: the singer-songwriter’s sincere, passionate vocals and acoustic guitar are front and centre on this lush effort, spinning heartfelt yarns both hopeful and achingly sad. This album was lovingly recorded in an old barn in Hamilton by a long-time friend of Katz, further adding to the impression that the singer is right there, relating these odes to love and loss directly to the listener. Katz handles the usual singer-songwriter fare with emotion without getting overly maudlin as some of his contemporaries are wont to do, and his tales of real tragedy are infused with subtlety rather than melodrama. Indeed, the songs dedicated to hate-crime victim Matthew Shepard and departed fiddler Oliver Schroer are standout tracks. Academy Award-winning songwriter Glen Hansard (Once) and Canadian folksmiths the Good Lovelies and Melissa McClelland contribute pitch-perfect harmonies to several tracks. Don’t be the first of the last to know: this is a great record. (Curve Music, www.curvemusic.ca) Tiff Bartel
Winnipeg music & culture since 1989