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BATTLE OF THE NUDES
Gordon Downie
(Maple Music/Universal)
On his 2001 debut solo album, Tragically Hip vocalist Gordon Downie gamely wandered off in new artistic directions, indulging his experimental side with soundscapey songs and addressing his literary aspirations with poetry and spoken-word passages.
On his followup Battle of the Nudes -- in stores Tuesday -- he retraces his steps, heading back toward the more commercial confines of the musical mainstream.
The dozen cuts on this 37-minute collection come in three equally accessible varieties: Atmospheric bedhead ballads a la Ron Sexsmith; quirky garage-pop nuggets vaguely reminiscent of Guided by Voices; and bashing, guitar-squeal fuzz-rockers that fall somewhere between old Tragically Hip and Crazy Horse.
Each category, happily, proves equally satisfying, giving the album some consistency to complement its variety -- and making the handful of artsy, noise- and sample-graced entries more digestible.
More importantly, though, the loose, easygoing immediacy of these jammy tracks evince a freshness and vitality that have been sadly missing from the last few Hip outings.
With Battle of the Nudes, Downie hits the mark fair and square.
Track Listing
1. Into The Night
2. Figment
3. Christmastime in Toronto
4. Willow Logic
5. Pascal's Submarine
6. 11th Fret
7. Who By Rote
8. Steeplechase
9. Ace Bailey
10. More Me Less You
11. We're Hardcore
12. Pillform #2
13. Pillform #1