Album Reviews

Hey, if the name was good enough for Paul Simon, then it works for Steve Adamyk as well! “Graceland” is already the man’s fifth album since his self-titled debut in 2010 and – much like Adamyk himself – the thirteen songs that make up the album are unstoppable.

Contrary to Paul Simon, Adamyk did not travel all the way to South Africa to record “Graceland”, but instead holed up in a studio in Montreal with Adrian Popovich (Solids, Barn Burner) and Max Desharnais and Sébastien Godin from Sonic Avenues, another great Canadian power pop band that you need to check out if you haven’t done so already. Oh, and the album also features guest vocals from Colleen Green and some crooning, courtesy of Mike Krol.

Musically things haven’t really evolved from 2014’s “Dial Tone”. But that's okay because I still love that album. This time around they did play around some more with different dynamics, but most of all these songs are still prime examples of excellent power pop. Opener “Through My Fingers” and the cheerful closer “She’s On My Mind (Heyday)” are punky, garage-y blasts of energy with fuzzed up guitars and the kind of vocal melodies that will be stuck in your head for days on end. More instant highs can be found in the form of the über-catchy, jittery “Carry On”, “Swallow You Whole” or the brooding “High Mile”. And well, in pretty much every single song on here.

If you haven't checked out any of Steve Adamyk Band's previous releases, do not make the same mistake now.