Creating their own distinct musical worlds

COLTER WALL “SONGS OF THE PLAINS” (SONY)

Quick: name the last great songwriter from Saskatchewan. I’d suggest the duo Kacy & Clayton, but I’ll forgive you if you haven’t heard of them (yet). Colter Wall (son of a recent provincial premier, no less) has been the talk of Nashville for a couple of years now, and when he travels the world he’s surprised no one knows anything about his home province. So, much like his Albertan friend Corb Lund, who sings backup here, he’s made his songwriting primarily local — and in doing so, has found universal appeal.

Produced by Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile), “Songs of the Plains” sounds like a campfire record, with little more than guitar, upright bass, and the instantly recognizable harmonica of Mickey Raphael, a.k.a. Willie Nelson’s right-hand man. The stark setting serves Wall’s rich baritone well, making the material that much more haunting — which is appropriate, because much of what Wall does is rooted in an antiquated view of Prairie life.

He covers Wilf Carter and three other old cowboy songs, but gets his history a bit confused on the otherwise worthy “Saskatchewan in 1881”: “Mr. Toronto man, go away from my door / got my wheat and canola seed / you’re asking me for more / you’d better fly before I produce my .44.” The word “canola” wasn’t coined until 1978, replacing the not-sofriendly “rapeseed,” so no one in 1881 would have referred to their crops as such. One would suspect such a strongly self-identifying Prairie boy to know that.

No matter: this sophomore record shows that Wall is more than just a historical re-enactment act.

Stream: “Plain to See Plainsman,” “Saskatchewan in 1881,” “Wild Dogs”

HARRISON “APRICITY” (LAST GANG)

Following in the footsteps of Kaytranada and Bonjay, the second album by Toronto producer Harrison is a warm amalgam of mostly instrumental R&B, house, soul and pop. While it’s unlikely he’s actually surrounded himself with 35-year-old instruments, Harrison taps warm analog sounds here to great effect. Apparently, after his debut album, he was determined to up his musicianship and started taking piano lessons. There’s certainly no Stevie Wonder wizardry here, but his musical education has paid obvious dividends: where he was once a mildly interesting beat-maker, he’s now ready to take his place among the best working today.

Stream: “Celica Supra,” “Your Girl” featuring Ralph, “Wavestation”

SANDRO PERRI “IN ANOTHER LIFE” (CONSTELLATION)

Singing about another life is one thing; creating a sonic landscape that suggests an alternate reality — some fate of quantum physics in which you’ve held a parallel Parisian existence, in a city that attracts the lost souls of the world looking for truth and beauty by the streets beside the Seine — is quite another. “In Another Life” is more of a tone poem than an album of songs. Each of these four tracks burbles along at a leisurely pace, synths and jazzy elements intertwining to sound like nothing from this world. Perri sings the first two songs, including the 24-minute title track, which, oddly enough, never wears out its welcome, despite its static dynamic; it’s more meditative than music. He then turns vocals over to Andre Ethier (Deadly Snakes) and Dan Bejar (Destroyer) to riff on two versions of a song called “Everybody’s Paris.” Four tracks in 43 minutes end before you know it; a dreamier distraction you’d be hard to find.

Stream: all of it. It’s four songs.

DEVON WELSH “DREAM SONGS” (YOU ARE ACCEPTED)

In another life, Devon Welsh would have been a preacher — or at least a cantor. Mind you, the 30-year-old still has plenty of time to get into that calling, should he choose. Right now, however, he’s (thankfully) ditched his (godawful) moniker Majical Cloudz and debuting under his own name. The music largely remains the same: slow, brooding, intense, with Welsh’s vocals stretching out long notes in the melody, his earnest lyrics seeking connection. Welsh’s solo uses more acoustic instruments, including a string and woodwind sections, instead of the electronic textures of Majical Cloudz — a duo that toured the world as Lorde’s opening act the year of her breakthrough — but the arrangements are otherwise similar.

“Things more powerful than you control the actions in your life,” he tells us in the first verse of the first song here. Throughout, he sounds like a self-help guru of sorts — not just his lyrics, but the delivery as well. If you’re not in the right mood, Welsh comes off like a morose mope. Or you could view his vocal approach in the same you would a Sufi qawwali singer, or a Jewish hazzan, or chanting monks. Modern secular spirituals best absorbed while soaking in a hot bath.

Stream: “Dreams Have Pushed You Around,” “By the Daylight,” “Over the Ladder”