Reviews:: Corey Isenor Frost

Back in the winter of 2008, I humbled up and finally made mention of a young NB artist named Corey Isenor. His debut record - Young Squire - was a solid collection of indie folk that felt like the work of an artist with a solid back catalog and years of gigging under his belt instead of a fresh face. It was also one of the best self-released records I stumbled on, but despite the talent crammed into that DIY disc, I never saw Corey's name on posters here in Halifax, so he kind of went out of sight, out of mind.

That was until a few weeks ago when his new record, Frost showed up in my mailbox. Long story short, I didn't think Corey had this type of record in him. Thanks to some spirited product, drums and bass courtesy of Sackville's Shotgun Jimmie, Corey's songs blossomed into indie-folk gems that fall more inline with the nasally indie sounds he explored on Chores in the Summertime than the traditional hushed confessionals you expect from today's indie folkers.

Isenor still offers his take on the traditional sounds, like the banjo heavy As a Ghost and the echo-y chords of Rainsong, but he seems to have found his stride experimenting with bigger and bolder sounds. The drone and drums of the opener, Riverwoman, jump starts the record and he continues the surge on Baby Don't Go. He start tracks as intimate stories, but slowly build them into indie folk anthems without you even noticing. It's not hard to imagine someone singing along to The Weather or feeling the surprising warmth he adds to the lovely, epic title track when each layer is slowly added to the mix.

Sackville's music community is tight knit, almost like the indie-folk secret society of Canada, so it will be interesting to see if Corey's songs are able to push the boundaries past the confines of the beautiful college town. I've often wondered the same thing for people like Jimmie, Julie and Fred so my hopes aren't high - especially considering Corey is doing this alone - but if playing fields were equal, Isenor would be getting love on CBC and blogs all across the country.

MP3:: Corey Isenor - Frost

MP3:: Corey Isenor - Riverwoman
MYSPACE:: http://www.myspace.com/coreyisenor

Labels: Best-of '10, Corey Isenor, New Brunswick, Sackville