Barchords

iTunes Review

Afie Jurvanen’s second studio album under the Bahamas moniker finds the Toronto guitarist and singer/songwriter sounding noticeably more confident and relaxed than he did on his 2009 debut long-player, Pink Strat. In between albums, Jurvanen was nominated for a Juno Award and broke from Feist’s band. He also traveled with Wilco as a support act before branching off to headline his own tour. Barchords opens with “Lost in the Light,” a sleepy indie folk-rock tune that slow dances on subtly waltzing rhythms; Jurvanen plays his pink Stratocaster and sings in his textured tenor as Feist coos in the background. He cranks up the electric-guitar reverb and tape echo in the beginning of “Caught Me Thinking” before the song turns into a catchy little surf-flavored tune saturated in vintage tones. More stripped-down songs like “Montreal” and “Overjoyed” tread Neil Halstead territory with pensive, passive musings that play on negative space; Jurvanen sprawls out his singing to let the listener home in on all the worn textures of his unique voice.