Winnipeg’s Ricardo Lopez-Aguilar gets a little help from his friends on the long-awaited follow up to 2007’s We Are the Feeding Line, including drummer Shaun Gibson (The Details) on the bulk of the tracks and singer Keri Latimer (Nathan) on the tiny pretty popper Sleeper. These 10 songs are incredibly lush, perfectly complementing Lopez-Aguilar’s vocals (which didn’t appear on the more experimental debut) as he tells the tale of his marriage gone wrong in just 37 minutes. These are the type of heartbreak songs that get into your subconscious, blending subtle Postal Service beats with St. Vincent-calibre chainsaw guitars (Chalky Hearts) while creating a fishbowl atmosphere of murky memories spun into positive pop hits (Mouth Alive). It’s an incredibly clean, big sounding disc from one of Winnipeg’s most intriguing multi-talented singer/songwriter/musician/engineers - think The Soft Bulletin: The Divorced Years.

Published in Volume 67, Number 26 of The Uniter (May 29, 2013)