From Craig Finn to Leonard Cohen, early 2012 has seen an embarrassment of strong singer-songwriter releases, including Provincial from John K. Samson of Weakerthans fame. Samson has a way with words that lifts his more traditional folk songs above the fold (“So I make my shaking exclamation mark/With a handful of crumpled dark” he sings in "Heart of the Continent"), while touches of strings and guitar noise help build the framework for Samson’s poetics in the pensive “Grace Cathedral.” Weakerthans fans will get a kick out of more rocking moments like “Cruise Night,” a power-pop anthem that sounds like it’s taken from an indie-rock musical about Big Star.

Also available on LP.