Colter Wall

Songs of the Plains

On his terrific sophomore record, Wall paints a portrait of a mythic Canadiana, a western region of lonesome plains and grizzled frontiersmen, of rodeos and gunfighters, of hardscrabble existences and unlucky bounces.

With his husky, sensitive baritone, this son of Canada’s Prairie Provinces mixes the tales of modern and historic wanderers on his second sterling album of traditional folk and country.

Songs of the Plains is an impressive, lean and mean follow-up to Wall’s self-titled breakthrough, building on the promise contained in the latter and unapologetically following his influences into the sunset, prevailing trends be damned.

The set walks a fine line with its retro-fetishism, but it manages to dodge hokey-ness thanks to Wall’s great voice, a low-key delivery, and invitingly haunted backdrops.

Colter Wall captures a long-forgotten time and place, keeping the cowboy folklore alive by reminding us that poignant songs sung by a superb singer will never sound outdated.