Album Review: Bahamas - Barchords

Bahamas, although a working band, is Afie Jurvanen. The Canadian troubadour was recently seen on these shores opening for and playing with City And Colour during their run of headline theatre shows, and has also spent some time manning the six-string and piano in Feist's live incarnation of recent years. Barchords owes nothing to any of these experiences, however, standing confidently in its own flickering limelight, the album a work of longing, hope and playfulness.

Lost In The Light is a beautiful opener and a suitable title that sums up the sound of Bahamas. These are songs to disappear within, to tackle your problems head-on, but also to forget them. The fact that the aforementioned tune has the most celebratory of choruses thrown in doesn't hurt either. Caught Me Thinking continues along that melodious path, the breezy nature of the lead guitar line recalling Jack Johnson at his most sun-kissed. Later in the album, Jurvanen delves deeper and offers up a wide spectrum of his repertoire. At one-minute in length, Any Other Way would be a throwaway ditty if the lyrics weren't so colourful and poignant, while the choppy shredding on Your Sweet Touch is simply electrifying, literally and figuratively.

The band are brilliant throughout the record; respectful and courteous to the wistful lyrics of Jurvanen. He's put his heart on the line with Barchords and it resonates true. The songwriter has crafted a body of work that could soundtrack a sunny day by the pool, a smoke-filled night in a dank bar or a romantic late night kiss in your apartment. It's a versatile and moving record that sheds its skin further with every spin.