Whereabouts

Canadian troubadour Ron Sexsmith has received the praises of Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney and Elton John for his songwriting prowess, his ability to take the love-worn paths and somehow tread them anew with simple lyric flourishes and splashes of surprising melody. For his third major label album, 1999’s *Whereabouts*, Sexsmith continued to work with producer Mitchell Froom, whose penchant for subtle and unusual instrumentation lends a soberly psychedelic edge to Sexsmith’s love songs without sacrificing the tight bass-drum-piano-guitar attack. “Still Time” opens things with a perfectly metered rhythm and lyric scheme, gently building to the consoling conclusion that “where there’s still hope, there’s still time” as the harpsichord weaves dreamily alongside. “Riverbed” resounds like a solemn psalm. A mid-‘60s gait rolls through “Feel for You” while “One Grey Morning” adds a festive horn section to its mad parade and “The Idiot Boy” hop-skips with an eager naiveté. In the end, it’s a feeling of timelessness, of each pop decade coming together as one in service of a great song.