Rating: NNN
Whitehorse-bred Stephen Kozmeniuk, the ink still drying on his MapleMusic contract, styles himself the Sam Roberts of the Yukon. This follow-up to 2001’s solid self-titled disc is a retrofitted collection of guitar-heavy, psych-tinged rockers with periodic bursts of R&B-lite and jangly roots à la the Band. There’s a lovable Robertsian vibe of good-natured fist-pumping energy – the chorus of lead track People Come On is eerily similar to the hook of the Juno winner’s hit Where Have All The Good People Gone? Unsurprisingly, producer Brenndan McGuire (Roberts’s We Were Born In A Flame) is on hand to smooth any interesting edge to a fuzzy, radio-friendly sheen. Kozmeniuk’s voice is lovely, and the Byrdsish multi-tracked harmonies are sweet, but Every Page You Turn lacks the spark and variety of Boy’s self-produced bedroom pop past.
