Homeboy makes good
N. Justin Hunter
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Sunshine boy: Bryson
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Ottawa's Jim Bryson finds muse and contentment back where it all began
The film High Fidelity contains a memorable scene where John Cusack's character addresses the viewer directly and claims that as soon as he plays the latest Beta Band album, two copies will be sold within minutes. Jim Bryson's music is so good that when I'm at a party, I can do the same thing, confident that someone will come up to me and ask where they can buy this album after a couple tracks.On a cold, dark and rainy day, XPress was able to catch up with a sunny Bryson on the phone, preparing for a gig in Toronto. Born and raised in Stittsville, Bryson has just released his third album, Where the Bungalows Roam, after spending the past few years touring with Kathleen Edwards and Howe Gelb.
Originally conceived as "a six-song EP, sort of a stop-gap to sell at my shows" following a parting of ways with the Orange Record Label after the release of his sophomore album The North-Side Benches, in the demo process Bryson quickly realized that he had a full album's worth of material on his hands.
Deciding to eschew signing with another large record company, Bryson instead chose to work with Ottawa-based Kelp Records: "[I saw] no reason why I would move outside of town when we've got a great label, distributor and publicist here."
A departure from the edgy Replacements-inspired country and folk of his debut album The Occasionals, Where the Bungalows Roam is a calmer, more content and mellow album, tailor-made for a long summer drive through an afternoon stretch
of Canadian highway.Bryson credits his other job, as a guitarist and keyboardist for Kathleen Edwards, as having a profound effect on the style of the songs on this album. "I get to be in a rock band when I'm playing with Kathleen, and I love playing with her, but it changed my own musical approach and made me want to explore other sounds."
As the clouds begin to clear, and the interview finishes, it's impossible not to be struck by how content and satisfied Bryson seems, rejecting the tortured artist stereotype. To borrow a line from his latest release: "You'll never grow it's clear, if you don't let the sun shine in."
Jim Bryson
Saturday, April 14 and 15, $15
The Black Sheep Inn
