Winter 2004

Whether wittily dismissing Canadians' obsession with all things American, as in "Canada Dreams of California," or contemplating the possible state of the world the Sunday morning after the revolution, Evalyn Parry is clearly at her best when her tongue is firmly in her cheek. Her new CD, Unreasonable, is full of cheeky little gems. Parry is nothing if not versatile. This actor, playwright, musician and singer-songwriter has been making waves on the Toronto art scene for the past few years.

Featuring everything from "inner city blues to old shaggy banjo tunes," the self-titled debut recording from Po' Girl is really grounded in traditional blues. Songs like "Bad Luck Baby," "Bleak Street" and "Backstairs Down" sound like they could have been penned 50 years ago. The CD's recurring themes of loneliness, poverty and heartache are pure blues, as is the sparse, elegant production.

Like Evalyn Parry, Arlene Bishop is a Toronto-based performer of diverse talents. Having released her third CD, Cut A Man's Heart Out, she is at work preparing her first stage show. And while Bishop's ability as a playwright has yet to be seen, there is no doubt as to her aptitude for crafting darkly humorous folk-pop songs. Don't believe me? Check out these lyrics: "Bhudda on the vinyl dashboard/ Organizing fate/ Stop the car, open the door/ Before it's too late" from "One Shoe," or "At three a.m. I'm a poet/ At four a.m. I am a wreck," from Insomniac.

Vancouver's Norine Braun's fifth release, Now & Zen, is the musical equivalent of the trilogy of needs in the Wizard of Oz. This is definitely a work with courage, heart and brains. Although its content is often intense and challenging, Now & Zen is never a frustrating listen. Even when Braun plays lyrically with philosophical concepts, she does so in a way that is accessible.