Octoberman

Octoberman's Marc Morrissette readily admitted he dislikes the singer/songwriter appellation. Like it or not, it definitely applies to the Vancouver musician’s debut recording.

The nine tracks on these trails are old and new were written while Morrissette was travelling through Europe, Asia and Turkey with his girlfriend in the summer of 2003. The album plays out like a musical travelogue, melding the musical sensibilities of Neil Young and Hayden with observational lyrics reminiscent of fellow traveller Jack Kerouac’s prose.

Tracks like ‘X-pat’ and ‘Tokyo Nightmare’ capture the feelings of self-consciousness and isolation that anyone who has ever travelled abroad can doubtlessly identify with. The sparse instrumentation is a perfect fit with the sense of loneliness that fills many of the songs on the album.

these days are old and newis a breath of fresh air in the stagnant singer/songwriter genre. Just don’t be surprised if you feel an overwhelming urge to travel to an exotic locale after you get through listening to it.