All music is made, to some degree, because its creator can stand on the shoulders of giants, that is, use existing work as a platform and, from such a vantage point, see further than those who have come before them. It’s a concept that Colin Roy Monette is familiar with, for even though his latest album, Simple Gifts, is made in the here and now, it also tips its hat to what has gone before.
It is in these blends of style and era, genre, and perhaps even geography that the album gets its real charm and creativity. So, for every nostalgic jazz-blues groover, such as the Hoagy Carmichael-esque America The Beautiful Today, there is a more modern take on the singer-songwriter vibe, like the hazy indie-folk-infused Hit and Run. For every classic bluesy-rocker like Let It Rock, with its wailing, passing freight-train harmonica, there is a beautifully delicate roots-pop ballad like the title track.
Simple Gifts is everything you need from an album: shifting styles and genres with ease, mixing them as required, changing pace, looking to the future and acknowledging the power and presence of what has gone before. Perfect.
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