Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Has it really been nearly 20 years since the Junkies released The Trinity Session? A commemorative DVD is in the works for release later this year. In the meantime, the Junkies have released one of their most potent albums to date. From the sublime ballad “Spiral Down,” featuring a fiddle floating over Margo Timmins’ chilling vocal, to the ravaged “Cutting Board Blues” and the almost trip-hoppy “It Doesn’t Really Matter Anyway,” it also stands as one of the band’s most varied releases. Happy anniversary. Apr. 24   

Like their siren sister Neko Case, The Sadies are masters at mining roots music and making it their own. But where Case turns everything she touches to gothic gold, The Sadies take a more cosmic approach, adding surf, rockabilly and psych flavors to their spaghetti western stew. The band’s fifth studio album mixes all of those elements on a dozen cinematic songs like “Anna Leigh” and “What’s Left Behind.” Dallas and Travis Good pick and harmonize their way through the material like only badass brothers can. Sept. 18

After his excellent solo album, La De Da, Halifax hero Plaskett is back with his Emergency band. The group’s latest, produced by Gordie Johnson (Big Sugar, Grady), is a mostly raw rock-and-roll record. The blistering “Drunk Teenagers” details getting plastered, suburban-style, while “Fashionable People” mixes riff rock and synth-pop elements to hilarious effect. But then Plaskett pulls out “Chinatown/For the Record,” a gorgeous ballad with acoustic guitar and orchestral strings. A prolific renaissance man. Apr. 17