Jon McKiel ★★★★
Hex
YOU’VE CHANGED. CD/DL/LP
Cottage industry seeks to expand.
He’s been making albums since 2006’s self-titled, self-released debut, but Jon McKiel, a former punk from the hardscrabble industrial town of Amherst, Nova Scotia has remained elusive, probably deliberately. Elegant and under-stated, Hex isn’t going to catapult him into the mainstream, but it’s a mighty leap forwards. McKiel’s way, shown to best effect on the title track, is to layer subtle guitar loops, snatches of melody and echo alongside dream-like vocals, way down in the mix. Like McKiel’s best work, it’s as hypnotic as Ben Howard without the folky leanings, but unlike the rest of the album, there’s saxophone. Elsewhere, he tackles a Terry Jacks cover, strumming his way through Concrete Sea (a pre-Seasons In The Sun Top 20 Canadian hit). Hex isn’t really about individual tracks, though: it’s about mood and feel. Overwhelmingly, the feel is good.