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With his band El Torpedo, Mays crafts excellent alt-country-rock songs about lost love and endless highways. On this solo album, the Nova Scotia surfer dude explores similar themes but in a variety of styles. “Beach Party,” with its spacey keyboard dub, sounds like something from The Beta Band, while the title track, featuring a guest vocal from rapper Buck 65, is an urban-flavored delight. And when Mays returns to jangly California sounds on “Morning Sun,” it’s as gorgeous as anything he does with El Torpedo.

The woolly-hatted one is back. For his latest album, the Boy, born Damon Gough, pays tribute to growing up in England, with a nod to his hero Bruce Springsteen. While there’s nothing as spirited as the Boss’ “Thunder Road” or “No Surrender,” Gough has a way with modest pop songs about life’s futility, such as the piano-laced “Without a Kiss” and the acoustic blues “Time of Times.” The rocking title track sums up all things English, including royalty, The Sex Pistols and the country’s “sense of loathing and belonging.”

Canada’s Hip has achieved undeniable greatness, graduating from bar band to stadium act with consistently strong, uncompromising albums. But throughout Hip history the American charts have always eluded them. That may change with “In View,” the buoyant first single from the band’s 11th album, produced by Rob Rock (Metallica, Bon Jovi). Bright and accessible, it’s the closest the Hip has ever come to pop music. Also cool are excursions into one-drop reggae (“The Kids Don’t Get It”) and giddy travelogue (“Fly”).

Is ancient music back in vogue? Richard Thompson recently covered a 13th-century English ballad, and joined Bono, Sting and others singing a collection of old sea chanteys. Here, der Stingle picks up the lute and tackles the work of John Dowland, who was court lutenist to James I in the early 17th century. Apparently, Dowland’s “Flow, my tears” and “In darkness let me dwell” were pop songs back in the day and Sting’s passion for them is palpable. What next? Mesopotamian hip hop? Medieval country music?

Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy recently released his third solo CD. Not to be outdone, the darker half of the band’s songwriting team responds with his third. Featuring support from Keelor’s usual suspects, including Sarah McLachlan and members of The Sadies (with whom he performs in the psych-country group The Unintended), it’s a bittersweet affair, with pretty ballads like “Miss You” and ominous numbers like “Prisoner.” Although he lacks Cuddy’s melodic gifts, Keelor’s moody songs run much deeper.

A preening poseur, Rod the (former) Mod has sacrificed an admittedly brilliant rock voice too often for fame and fortune. Most recently, Stewart cashed in with the four-volume Great American Songbook series, which sold a staggering 15 million copies worldwide. Here, the model-chasing Scot tries to salvage some credibility by lending his famous sandpaper vocals to such rock hits as Badfinger’s “Day After Day” and The Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand by You.” A good career move, but a case of too little, too late.

Cochrane is not celebrated like fellow Canadian singer-songwriters Joni, Leonard or Neil. But his body of work has attracted a large and loyal fan base, from Red Rider days to his solo recordings. This studio album, Cochrane’s first in eight years, proves that the creator of “Life is a Highway” and other hits is still on a meaningful musical journey. The best songs include the chiming ballad “Glide” and the anthemic rocker “White Horse.” Clearly, as Cochrane sings on the album’s passionate opener, the party’s not yet over.

It’s a big jump from a Pentecostal church in New Jersey to collaborating with Eric Clapton. But that’s how far the pedal steel guitar has taken Randolph, who plays his instrument with Clapton-like virtuosity. Hugely popular on the jam-band circuit, Randolph will do well with his second studio album, which features Dave Matthews and Clapton himself, on a raucous rendition of The Byrds’ “Jesus is Just Alright.” There’s also Sly Stone-style funk on “Diane” and joyful gospel-rock on “Deliver Me.”

The New Pornographers’ family tree leads directly to Shane Nelken, a talented odd-bod who works as an actor, film score composer and cremationist, of all things. Nelken, who’s recorded with the Pornos’ AC Newman, performs quirky, adventurous songs of his own like the dreamy “Sad Girl Radio” and the choral “T-Rexia Nervosa” with his band The Awkward Stage. There’s nothing awkward about the group’s debut, which is produced by Porno drummer Kurt Dahle. In fact, this is highly poised and polished pop.

Are you ready to be saved? Jon-Rae Fletcher and his country-soul-gospel group have their sights set on your miserable, god-forsaken soul. Singing spirited songs about sex, booze, apparitions and hitting the road, the Toronto band takes a distinctly non-Christian approach to their missionary work. With honky-tonk pianos, Stax-style horns and Fletcher’s ecstatic vocals with his girlfriend, Anne Rust D’eye, it’s like an old-fashioned revival from the boisterous opening “Roll” to the hymn closing “Fire.” Amen.