Norm Burnet releases It Don’t Get Better Than This
Norm Burnet releases It Don’t Get Better Than This
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/user-484997028/sets/it-dont-get-better-than-this
Canadian folk-rock powerhouse Norm Brunet proves that he’s in the prime of his career with the release of his highly anticipated new album It Don’t Get Better Than This, a ten song work of art that depicts the singer/songwriter at his most relaxed and comfortable. With just a guitar in his hand and a voice in his heart, Brunet unleashes pure country gold in songs like the emotionally charged “She’s Afraid to Say” and “Put Some Love Back in My Life,” both of which hint at a more expansive, evolving sound that hasn’t even come into complete fruition yet. There’s a bit of old school countrified ache is some areas, a dash of rough edged folky rebellion in others, and the consistent feeling that we’re out on an uncharted adventure that only Brunet is able to lead us on. It Don’t Get Better Than This is a thoroughly engaging experience from beginning to end and stands to become a readymade superstar in both the country and indie charts alike.
“I Will” might be the most startling ballad of 2018 and is rhythmic enough to entice any diehard country fan to pick up a copy of this album, but in tracks like the staggering “Out of the Blue,” we see a much more intuitive side of Brunet that we’ve never gotten to hear before. In a lot of ways I think he’s grown into his sound since his last record, and while he’s always been capable of penning a really strong, emotional love song, there’s something decidedly more mature and conceptual about these tracks. Like putting on a new pair of prescription glasses, It Don’t Get Better Than This in many ways makes us feel like we’re listening to the totality of Norm Brunet’s vocal range and ability to harmonize with almost any melody for the very first time. This record is something that every critic knew he had in him, it was always just a means of whether or not he’d have the right facilities and tools to produce it. And after a healthy wait, it can be said that he simply outdid himself with this collection.
I’ve never been the biggest country music fan in the world. A lot of country’s most beloved elements and subject matter have always seemed foreign to me, as a city kid who doesn’t relate much to the pastoral growing pains of living in a small town. But listening to Norm Brunet makes me realize that perhaps it wasn’t country music that I didn’t like, but rather the jaded, tired and uninspired country musicians that I was listening to. Brunet makes imagery of the dry emptiness that exists between both coasts and the humble folks who call it home come alive with colorful vibrancy in his lyrics, and with a terrific set of melodies and grooves in their company it’s almost impossible not to fall in love with what he’s doing in music – especially in It Don’t Get Better Than This. If good music is your thing, Norm Brunet is a character you should get to know.
Mindy McCall