Plaskett releases conceptual project

On the eve of his 45th birthday last month, Joel Plaskett celebrated the release of 44, a set of four, 11-song albums that represent the most elaborate and creative endeavor of his multi-faceted 26-year career.

A deep weave of lyrical threads, studio experimentation and interconnected imagery, 44 marks a new chapter in both his life and work.

A conceptual follow-up to his Juno-award winning triple record, Three, 44 was four years in the making, the songs were recorded in Dartmouth, Memphis, Nashville and Toronto with 33 different musicians.

The first single from the first album, Head Over Heels Into Heaven, was co-written by Joel and Mo Kenney and features The Emergency (Dave Marsh and Chris Pennell).

Musically, 44 showcases many of Plaskett's talents and the hallmarks that have established the Nova Scotia singer/songwriter as one of Canada's best known contemporary songwriters – catchy rock ’n’ roll, delicate acoustic ballads and sonic production experiments bounce around the albums. Varying themes run across the records, but at its heart, 44 is an imaginative, musical rumination on trying to slow down and grow up in a rapidly accelerating world.

The first album, 41: Carried Away, is a traveling record. It starts in Memphis with the song Collusion, old memories colliding with the present and the journey begins. The second album, 42: Just Passing Through, playfully evokes the feeling of returning home to an unfamiliar landscape, while, 43: If There's Another Road, is an introspective, nighttime transition from lost to found.

The fourth and final album, 44: The Window Inn, documents the arrival at a personal destination, summed up in the last song, "A Benefit 4 Dreamland."