Donovan Woods
Album: The Widowmaker
Label: Aporia Records
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.aporia-records.com

Exhibiting an un-self consciously bitter streak, Canadian singer songwriter Donovan Woods' new album finds virtue in letting loose the spit and bile of broken relationships. Won't Come Back and Don't Deny It make no secret of their pain, Lawren Harris is an honest appraisal of talent, while Lord I'm Tryin' asks us to cut him a little slack.

He knows what it take to be a nice guy as well (I'm Still Sweet) and is plenty familiar with holding an inexplicable grudge (Phone), although he may not be so proud of that. Unafraid to lay himself bare, Woods' songs are refreshingly simple and his playing, while accomplished, is more than simpatico.

The brutal honesty of his storytelling and the gentle musical settings recall the likes of Willy Mason and Damien Rice and do much to lay the spectres of the tedious cheap emotions mined by Jack Johnson and his slacker ilk that have infected the commercial end of the acoustic spectrum for far too long.

Nick Churchill
www.thegranvillechambers.co.uk