It's a big week for David Usher. Not only will the former Moist frontman celebrate his birthday, but he'll also release a new album (If God Had Curves) and will perform five live shows -- three of which are in Toronto (one is already sold out).

For those nostalgic Moist fans hoping for a David Usher record that more closely resembles the hard rock sound of his '90s grunge days -- you might be disappointed.

"It's a very personal album," the soon-to-be 39-year-old says. "It's very much a record where I was trying to get back to the simplicity of things and it's really a reflection of where I am in my life right now."

No stranger to change, it's clear Usher has come a long way since the days of Moist.

"As an artist, you're constantly trying to reinvent your process," he says. "With every record I've tried to put myself in a place of risk so that I'm excited to write again. Moist became a very safe thing -- we were very comfortable and I needed to do something different."

Apparently he's still got the same hunger for change -- something he enthusiastically welcomed while writing and recording the new album.

"For this record, I moved to New York, changed labels and really took myself out of my safety zone ... doubt and risk are all part of the process that engages me to work," Usher says. "I was isolated in New York with just my wife, my daughter and my guitar."

Being the Can-rock institution that he is, it's no surprise the singer took a lot of flack for heading South.

"When I first moved to New York, a lot of people said it was unpatriotic, but my job as a f--king songwriter isn't to do what's expected all the time -- it's to do what's interesting," he says. "People think I'm nuts for moving to America right now, but as an artist, you want to be where people are engaged and emotional about things."

Usher says he still considers himself Canadian, despite living in the U.S. and having been born in England to a Thai mother and a Jewish father.

"As Canadians, I don't think our job is to box ourselves in," he says. "We should be out in the world."

Two and a half weeks into his tour, Usher says he's hopeful people will respond well to his new songs. He says he'll maybe move back to Canada one day, but is smitten with New York for now.

As for his musical future, when asked whether there's a possibility of a Moist reunion, the singer responds with a firm "no" and a few seconds of silence.

"But you never know," he adds, with a laugh. "I never want to cut myself off from the possibility, but I doubt it. It's not where my head is right now."