Ladyhawk - Shots

Free from the constraints of wanting to fit into the current scene, it's pretty remarkable what a good musician can achieve. Shots is a masterpiece of just such independently-minded thinking. With this album, Canadian quintet Ladyhawk have delivered nine tracks of consistent excellence, especially around the more subdued middle third. They draw comparisons with the unaffected brilliance of Harmacy-era Sebadoh and a rockier Neil Young, but these only serve as the loosest reference points. Quite simply, the songs are superb. Shots as a whole is bound together by refreshingly unfussy recording, rich in roomy atmosphere and veined with vocals which are occasionally imperfect, yet more touching for it. The music swells and falls wonderfully throughout. If you're planning a trip anywhere special in the near future, put this on as you travel. It's a work of unpretentious brilliance, surely destined to soundtrack many, many fond memories. [Chris Cusack]