(Paper Bag) www.paperbagrecords.com

In Ottawa, Rolf Klausener’s achieved mythic status for merging tender merciful folkie prose with alterna-rocking anthems that usually find themselves tinged with ragga-Brazi rhythm. Think Arcade Vampire Furnace only chillier. For this rousing record, Klausener’s forged a way to wrangle more indie-points than if Santi White slept with SpankRock: he wrote a record pretty much about his mom without sounding too sappy. From the second he sets foot on the “the sanctity of soil” his trembling tenor voice embraces you, and during the incrementally theatrical “Hold Your Breath” you sense his import. But as each progressive step follows mom’s life-journey literally, figuratively, firmly and fascinatingly with Honduran music and percussion as its root, he finds a playfulness that a dozen sad cellos and lapsteels can’t hinder. Though “Flood Pt.1” is too melodramatic for my taste, the supple subtle “Crooked Legs” has just the perfect mix of mirth and mom-ness. I’m calling home now.

Standout Tracks: “Hold Your Breath,” “Crooked Legs” A.D. AMOROSI