Time Being

iTunes Review

The ‘songwriter’s songwriter,’ Canadian troubadour Ron Sexsmith has been lauded by Paul McCartney, Elton John, Elvis Costello and other top shelf artists for crisp, economical songs that are long on melody and perspective. He's reunited with producer Mitchell Froom, who handled the duties on three of Sexsmith’s earlier acclaimed albums (the self-titled major label debut, Other Songs and Whereabouts), and the duo immediately set in comfortably with a near-minimalist approach. Opening cut “Hands of Time” confronts mortality with a joyful push, while “Snow Angel” casts Sexsmith into the Brian Wilson role, his voice trailing upwards for the spine-chilling chorus. Every Sexsmith album follows this familiar schematic of hymn-like ballads and reverent mid-tempos, his politeness offering a conciliatory tone throughout. The stories tucked inside are often small and unassuming, but here Sexsmith thinks a little larger, addressing Canada’s neutral state in world affairs as a potential harbinger for looming disaster (“Ship of Fools”) and questioning how karma affects those called to do the dirty jobs (“The Grim Trucker”). The album closes with “And Now the Day is Done,” yet another spare and affecting ballad where a subtle sadness haunts the dimming of the day.