Sagas of gambling, love-lorn lamentations and hard-done-by living abound on How I’ll Remain, the third release by Vancouver’s Kent McAlister & The Iron Choir. The disc is a collection of 10 straight up country-rock tunes standing tall on the shoulders of storytellers such as Alabama, Johnny Cash and Corb Lund. In the standout Ballad of The Oar & Chain, McAlister’s tenor voice depicts brutal naval slavery while Spanish guitar and horns adorn the quasi-mariachi tune. He proves humorous in Memory Replacer, a song that compares a former lover to American beer: “You looked fine on the outside my dear / but when I opened you up trouble spilled out.” Although How I’ll Remain remains a country album at the end of the day, it’s devoid of the incessant cheesy twang found on most Nashville releases. Catch Kent McAlister at the Times Change(d) on Thursday, Oct. 8.

Published in Volume 64, Number 5 of The Uniter (October 1, 2009)