JOSHUA VAN TASSEL plays the Tranzac on September 15. See listing. Rating: NNN
Drummer, multi-instrumentalist and composer Joshua Van Tassel takes a break from backing David Myles, Joshua Cockerill, Kate Rogers and others to make his second full-length instrumental folktronica album. And it’s easy to see why his music has been used in theatre and TV: it’s fresh, accessible sonic experimentation, as inviting as it is unpredictable.
Propelled by Van Tassel’s drumming, acoustic guitar, electronics and percussion, and augmented by guests including Christine Bougie and Dean Drouillard, the songs are light-hearted, especially He Was Singing, with its uplifting call-and-response melody, and the playful Banana Holding Animal. He introduces vocal collaborators near the end, on reverby River Running (Cockerill) and mellow dance song Already Gone (Rogers). Though Rogers’s voice is sweet, the instrumental material is stronger.
Top track: He Was Singing
