Ron Sexsmith - Time Being

Ron Sexsmith at his best is a joyous splurge of sophisticated pop at its most contagious, yet quietly contagious, like Cheap Trick on mute. A Canadian born in '64, Sexsmith's being plying his seductive, intricate songs for years now and has never really set a foot wrong. A long time the treasure of Uncut and Mojo readers, Sexsmith deserves a wider audience than vinyl obsessives.

Time Being is yet another Sexsmith record, there's no denying his formula or familiar voice, or his sweet spiked melancholy take on life. But it's a great Sexsmith record that will press all the right buttons for his existing fanbase and maybe draw some new ones in.

Sexsmith's skill lies in taking folk, jazz and rock elements and weaving them into simple pop songs that seem as timeless as Roy Orbison. Snow Angel is a lovely delicate tune, perhaps a bit twee to some ears but overwhelmingly memorable all the same.

That is Sexsmith's skill, taking stock in trade pop formulas and redressing them as new and wonderful little symphonies. Over a whole album, his style can seem rather samey but upon repeated listenings and particularly when tracks such as the wistful Jazz At The Bookstore are taken on their own, they burrow into your head like a vintage art print.

Out now in the UK, but just released in the US on WEA.