Each song on Canadian-born singer-songwriter Pat LePoidevin’s fourth album is named after a town. While listening to the album it’s easy to imagine driving along a empty country road from town to town, the sun setting behind autumn trees, the windows rolled down to enjoy the last warm nights of summer. This is the music that would be playing on the radio while you drive.
There is something relaxing about Pat LePoidevin’s music, an endearing sense of peace and calm, the kind of atmosphere that city dwellers believe people in small towns experience everyday — an easier, happier way of life and an escape from the frantic monotony of the daily grind. The songs aren’t the typical escapist music that inspires you to jump in the car and drive somewhere, anywhere fast. It’s more about simply relaxing and experiencing the moment.
However it isn’t a smooth experience from the first track to the last. The vocals on the tracks “Hanna, WY” and “Caliente” provide a rougher sound that breaks up and disturbs the easy listening of the first few tracks. They have a more authentic sound, something like an impromptu concert or a busker on a city street, which gives them a more intimate feel. But they don’t flow naturally from the tracks before and the tracks after, though the same staccato rhythm does arises now and then throughout the rest of the album. They are minor speed-bumps between the beginning of this album and the end and despite them the album as a whole is an enjoyable listen if you enjoy country and folk music.
Pat LePoidevin will be playing at Local 510 on Sept. 14.