ROXANNE POTVIN plays the Rivoli tonight (Thursday, May 5). See listing. Rating: NNN
The last time I saw Roxanne Potvin, she was winding down after a tight blues- and R&B-infused set at Wakefield’s Black Sheep Inn, drinking beer with her band and singing her way through the Beatles catalogue.
The Juno-nominated bilingual singer/songwriter, now based in Montreal, has turned her back on the blues and struck out in a new, you guessed it, pop/rock direction on her fourth album. Potvin sounds more youthful now that she’s shed her genre-specific vibe, and the songs have a flavour of easy experimentation.
Produced by Black Hen’s Steve Dawson, Play kicks off with organ and understated talk-singing – like acoustic Sheryl Crow or Liz Phair. What follows is a mixed bag: fanciful lyrics on Coral Reef Fishes and the dreamy Seashells, a great French freak-out on Dis-Moi Que Tu M’Aimes, a less convincing rant called Pretty Girls and a quirky cover of I’m Too Sexy. You Told Me and Born To Win are lovely low-key roots-pop.
Top track: You Told Me