Julie Doiron — I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day

I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day is unlike any other Julie Doiron album. The reason: Doiron is finally happy.

After years of laments and melancholy on self-evident records like 1997's Loneliest In The Morning and 2004's Goodnight Nobody, New Brunswick's favourite daughter announces in her new disc's first song that she's living "The Life Of Dreams."

It follows that Doiron no longer has a need to funnel angst through Eric's Trip-like clunk-rock, but that doesn't mean there aren't heavy-hitting tracks here. Mid-album standouts "Heavy Snow" and "Consolation Prize" are the most packed-full rock songs that Doiron has ever put on a solo album. She also craftily redoes three Shotgun & Jaybird numbers to suit her aesthetic: "Spill Yer Lungs," "Lovers Of The World" and "Borrowed Minivans." At the other end of the spectrum, "Nice To Come Home" is quite possibly the cutest song ever recorded.

Hands down, this is Doiron's most engaging work since 1999's Julie Doiron And The Wooden Stars.

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