Rating: NNN
Ashley MacIsaac and Final Fantasy are the most famous boundary-breaking Canadian violinists, but one classically trained Torontonian might be the most interesting. Eugene “Dr. ” Draw has found the perfect balance between house beats, atmospheric sounds and traditional strings on his latest record, Adagio. Unlike his violin-wielding contemporaries, Dr. Draw doesn’t sing. Instead, he keeps the focus on his grandiose melodies – and this might be the disc’s downfall, since almost every song is epic, often bordering on self-indulgent. There’s no denying Adagio is inventive, but it’s hard to tell what kind of shelf life it’ll have.
Dr. Draw plays Healey’s tonight (Thursday, May 17).