COUNTRY MUSIC PEOPLE

Jay Gavin is a road warrior who slept most nights in his van last year. Hailing from a tiny fishing village on Canada’s Prince Edward Island Gavin released his debut full-length Americana album Boat on a Whale, in 2019. Billy Don Burns suggested he drive down to Nashville and meet with Denny Knight (Waylon Jennings, Conway Twitty). Denny obviously liked what he heard, hooked Gavin up with some Nashville A-listers, and the end result is a wonderful singer-songwriter album of stories that channel the best traits of Kristofferson into a Robert Earl Keen Texas style that met Aaron Raitiere on the way to the cantina.

   It really couldn’t get off to a better start than Mexican Food, Cold Beer & Tattoos which if you didn’t know better could have come from one of Texas’ singer-songwriter greats. It’s catchy, fun, sing-along-able, and utterly irresistible.

   So good is Jay Gavin at delivering hook-laden everyman songs it’s hard to imagine him spending years touring North America as bassist with punk and metal bands. Try not singing along to Maybe It Was Me on the first listen. There are shades of Buffett to the feel and it sounds like an instant live favourite and future classic. The world-weariness of Better Man is equally catchy but in a more Waylon ballad way and is further enhanced by a guest appearance by Gavin’s mentor Billy Don Burns.

   These songs might be catchy but there’s never a moment when you could mistake it for pop. Gavin proves over and over his way with a lyric is as good as it is with a hook. Rhythms And Rhymes has both of those qualities, Better Left Alone evokes a feeling of movement and transition and also has something to say. This is grown-up music for grown-ups. Every story, every experience is completely believable, and Gavin’s authenticity is unquestionable. This is wonderful, joyous and delivered with the knowledge, turn of phrase, sense of humour, and cynicism that can only come with some miles under your belt. I think I just found me a new favourite singer-songwriter and an album of the year, I love it “more than a bear loves honey”.