LUKE DOUCET AND THE WHITE FALCON

Steel City Trawler

lukedoucet.com

With a burgeoning reputation in his native Canada as both an incisive songwriter and a riveting guitar slinger, Luke Doucet now makes a determined effort to balance both aspects of his talent. Steel City Trawler is as gritty as its title implies, its pure, unapologetic rock ’n’ roll referencing the Stones, the Faces and even the Who in all their frayed and tattered glory. An amped-up remake of countryman Gordon Lightfoot’s classic “Sundown” is fully electrified, yet the makeover sounds every bit as natural as the original rendition. Elsewhere, songs such as “Monkeys,” “Thinking People,” “Dirty, Dirty Blonde” and “Dusted” ramp up the swagger, suggesting that for all his craft and cool, Doucet’s most comfortable when he’s afforded the chance to simply cut loose. He is assisted in seizing that opportunity by longtime backing band the White Falcon, whose brash delivery more than earns them their equal billing. While the entire band does an admirable job of spurring Doucet on, drummer Andrew Scott deserves special kudos for his Keith Moon-like attack on “Love and a Steady Hand.” Doucet’s wife, Melissa McClelland, adds hushed harmonies on “Magpie,” providing a rare moment of quiet respite on an album that otherwise bristles with relentless abandon.