Barzin - Notes To An Absent Lover

Reflecting the highs and lows experienced by the human heart in the aftermath of a break-up, Canadian singer-songwriter Barzin's third album, Notes To An Absent Lover, balances the introspection of his earlier work with up-tempo orchestral arrangements that provide a richly melodic heartbeat to these glowing confessionals.

Personal but never indulgent, the raw honesty of the lyrics details universal themes of sorrow, regret and anger, evoking all the vulnerability and shifting emotions of a failed relationship. From the gentle, grieving steel guitar of "Soft Summer Girls" to the defiant drumbeats of "Look What Love Has Turned Us Into", Notes To An Absent Lover brings new textures and colours to Barzin's palette.

In addition to Karen Graves' string arrangements, splashes of vibraphone, pedal steel and banjo surface amid the traditional guitars, bass and drums. In harmony with the sentiment guiding them, the musicians display a graceful empathy while Barzin's voice and words take centre stage. Just as the lyrics eschew symbolism in favour of candour, gone too is the sonic experimentation employed in 2006's My Life In Rooms, replaced with a more direct style of music and a greater 'pop' sensibility.

Notes To An Absent Lover was recorded by Don Kerr (Ron Sexsmith) and Jeremy Darby (Pink Floyd, Lou Reed), and mixed by Chad Irschick and Darryl Neudorf (Neko Case, The New Pornographers), and will release on October 13 through Monotreme Records.

Download Nobody Told Me.