rating: ★★★

As a fan of Canadian music, and of independent artists, I always make a point of revisiting old favourites. With David Myles, I was a steadfast fan from the start. Over his career, he has released a series of steadily-improving albums that all represented his talents and style well. This is why I found his most recent album so disappointing.

Into the Sun is a prolonged repetition of horn, guitar and vocals that blend the tracks together. The album is a progression of his previous works. As a songwriter, he is dealing with growing old and this is reflected in songs like “Time To Be A Man,” in which he opines on his past mistakes as a young man and his future. The album is well thought out, but it lacks energy.

This may seem like an unfair critique, considering Myles’s toned-down style. However, while his previous albums were certainly not up-tempo, they did feel more complex. There was a humour to his work that seems to have fallen by the wayside on Into the Sun.

While songs like “Simple Pleasures (Classified Mix)” and “Leaving” revive the album with some much needed verve, the record as a whole feels lacklustre. The time between the high quality tracks feels like a waiting game, the musical equivalent of twiddling one’s thumbs.

Considering all of this, the album is still an enjoyable experience. Even in his less-than-stellar moments, Myles manages to bring the listener in with smooth vocals complimented by his well-constructed instrumentation. It’s important to stress that the quality of his music as a whole remains well above the median, but he has created great expectations with his former work and at first listen this album doesn’t meet this standard.

Into the Sun, while not his best effort, is a solid album that doesn’t fully showcase Myles’s notable talents.

The album is still worth the money spent, but new listeners should explore his back catalogue before shelling out the cash for this one.

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Image: Supplied