In a musical landscape that’s currently about as aesthetically parched as an old Okie dustbowl, The Tragically Hip stand ragged and right as one of Canada’s best rock ’n’ roll bands. Sure, it’s a mystery why these smart, literate rockers haven’t yet taken the United States by storm. But if there’s any justice in this world, In Between Evolution will go a long way toward rectifying that sinful omission.
To give just one example, “Heaven Is A Better Place Today” is the kind of sprawling anthemic epic that used to regularly frequent Ian Hunter albums. In fact, all of In Between Evolution has that kind of feel to it, right down to the nuanced passion in Gord Downie’s distinctive vocals.
Now, diehard Mott fans like myself would probably be the first to disagree with that sweeping statement, but hopefully you can see what I’m really getting at here: that it’s the feel of the thing that matters — and this album is about as far removed from the cookie-cutter corporate rock template as you can possibly get.
E-mail Jeffrey Morgan at [email protected].
