Jon-Rae Fletcher — Oh, Maria

There must be something about being a preacher's son that affects one's voice because when Jon-Rae Fletcher sings, his voice is so earnest that you believe every word. Fletcher was previously a major fixture in the Toronto indie scene with Jon-Rae & The River, but, after he went through a major relationship break-up and his band called it quits, he moved back to British Columbia. Both break-ups have affected Oh, Maria in terms of subject matter and sound. When Fletcher sings "This is the sound of a heart breaking in two" on "The Sound," it cuts straight through to the listener. But lest you think it's some kind of emo lament, it's instead a gospel-influenced, folky song that actually desires change, and this album is full of big changes. Most of Oh, Maria is subdued in comparison to Jon-Rae & The River's country and soul-influenced party anthems. But the disc isn't completely introspective or withdrawn. "My Hands," with the lyric "I could beat the shit out of any motherfucker," "Downtown" (which is quite obviously about sex) and the lone murder ballad, "The Hill," harken back to Fletcher's days of old. The gospel and country inflections are still in his voice, even though most of the songs couldn't be considered as belonging to either genre. Oh, Maria does a good job of balancing his new, future direction with some of his older work, and it'll be worth following him to see what he does next.