It’s almost hard to believe that a Broken Social Scene alumni is responsible for as agreeable an Americana record as Here’s to Being Here. It’s not that I take issue with Broken Social Scene — it’s just that BSS are, well, weird. They make weird music. This Jason Collett record swims agreeably alongside Americana and folk-rock, two genres largely ill-equipped to handle weirdness. The Jakob Dylan five o’clock shadow and lumberjack flannel adorning his profile on the cover of Here’s to Being Here aren’t red herrings — the Jason Collett of this record is an earthy, middle-America singer-songwriter in the vein of Petty or Dylan. Except, you know, Canadian.
Essentially a Traveling Wilbury twenty years too late, Collett’s influences are on his sleeve from jump street — opener “Roll On Oblivion” signals that from the introduction of it’s rolling, insistent guitar lick, confirms it with the introduction of Collett’s pinched, nasal vocal. King Bob isn’t the only musical touchstone here, nor does Collett possess his tendency for a winding, journeyman lyric; “Papercut Hearts” is pure Petty in mid-tempo rocker mode, the lovely, loping “Henry’s Song” sounds like Rufus Wainwright covering The Beatles, and “No Redemption Song” could’ve been a Jim Croce b-side.
If it all sounds like more of a retro lark than a cohesive album, that’s because it is. Here’s to Being Here reinvents nothing, breaks no new ground, and has feet firmly planted in the ’70s. That said, it’s a very authentic sounding, exceptionally tuneful record, and when Collett hits his stride with his best melodies, it’s an absolute gas. “Through the Night These Days”, with its honey-coated backing vocals and four-on-the-floor beat is addictive, no-frills country-pop-rock (I think of The Jayhawks, for some reason); “Nothing to Lose” recalls America’s galloping dustbowl folk with an ascending note on the chorus that charmingly flits out of tune at the top; and Jason attains actual pathos with the extra-pretty “Somehow”, a reverent apology married to an acoustic ballad.
It’s impeccably crafted from top to bottom, and if Collett’s artistic identity sounds a lot like a mix-’em’-up of other peoples’ artistic identities, he’s at least got the chops to make it work. Here’s to Being Here is one of the best ’70s folk-rock albums of the 2000s; these songs are not to be missed.
Playlist Track: “Through the Night These Days”
Drew's Album of the Day 