Jon McKiel, The Nature of Things

From the first listen of this CD, it was like meeting someone that you know you’re gonna get along well with. Jon McKiel is another Canadian import and has recently released the CD The Nature of Things, a follow-up to his debut self-titled 2006 disc. Jon McKiel plays simple, honest, acoustical songs and is backed by a band that accents right, rocks when needed, and leaves proper space for Jon’s earnest, raspy-tinged voice. It leans toward the singer-songwriter side but still rocks. Very comparable to Ryan Adams (whom I really like), although McKiel has a stronger voice and less cut-your-gut-open-and-bleed lyrics. McKiel’s lyrics know of sadness but are masked a bit.

The Nature of Things begins with the song “War on You,” which, like most of the disc’s songs, starts off simple with just vocals and guitar before the band comes in later, building steadily behind bass drum beats and a military-ish snare and a trumpet at the end. The first single and video from the disc, though, come from “Somebody’s Listening,” a song that’s a bit different than the other songs. In places, it has a seemingly misplaced, peppy-sounding organ in it for the beat, which contrasts with McKiel’s slow, pained delivery and tragic lyrics. While he’s pushed and pulled by this beat, he sings, “I know you’re some wayward heart / And we got lost from the very start.” Strangely, the song works.

Other high points on the disc include the songs “123 My Friends” and “Walking With The Dead,” but my favorite song is the heartfelt “Get Caught,” which is just guitar and voice for the most part. McKiel sings, “Seems like the best thing to do is cry / So I laid on the blacktop and started to die / Out on this hot street breaking sun / Now everybody watch as I come undone.” Then he sings, “Oh my God when you get sick / Just don’t let the medicine take care of it.” At the end of the song, the band comes in to drive things home with echoing guitars in the distance. The song really gets to me. That’s just The Nature of Things, and it works.