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He’s defined not by what he loves, but by his doubts, and as a result, this album is far more interesting and complex than anything he’s done in years.
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The other brilliant move was producer Martin Terefe’s idea of going to Havana to dub on a Cuban brass section trying to fake Memphis Horns-style head riffs. They never get it quite right, but what they come up with works perfectly as a brightening counterbalance for Sexsmith’s darker inclinations.
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Exit Strategy of the Soul isn't just an experiment that succeeds, it's one of Sexsmith's strongest and most affecting works to date, and it's truly a pleasure to hear.
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His Canadian burr has a welcoming fug to it, like a strong, warming whisky, and this collection of 14 soft, catchy soul songs of a 1970s vintage, pepped up with piano and brass, have moments that shake and swing. But when those moments subside, they resemble bits of dated aural wallpaper for a provincial hotel foyer.
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Exit Strategy finds Ron Sexsmith exploring his songwriting talent in new ways, crafting an instantly memorable album full of soulful, classic pop tunes.
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But at its core, the album is no great departure. It's the same seamless amalgam of pop, folk, country and R&B Sexsmith has perfected, like influences and admirers Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe, as poetic and thoughtful as it is tuneful.
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As is common with albums so self-consciously devoted to a particular sound, the instrumentation is too strictly consistent from track to track.
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Without pushing, Sexsmith lures listeners into a world filled with disappointments offset by the hope of a better tomorrow, even though there isn't a lot of common sense backing up that hope.
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UncutThe new LP gradually casts a powerful spell. [Aug 2008, p.106]
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MojoSexsmith's mournful voice and lyrical skills, so admired by the likes of Elvis Costello and Neil Finn, detail a world of love and hopeful expectation. It all makes Exit Staretgy... an almost infinitely rich and subtle album. [Sep 2008, p.98]
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FilterExit Strategy Of The Soul will serve as his most accesible release to date; simply from the craftman's decision to become rooted somewhere...anywhere. [Summer 2008, p.92]
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Entertainment WeeklySexsmith unwisely attacks some notes above his comfortable register on 'Impossible World,' which is just one of the several numbers that are nothing more than blandly forgettable. [11 Jul 2008, p.72]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 7 out of 7
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Mixed: 0 out of 7
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Negative: 0 out of 7
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CaleH.Jul 10, 2008Besides retriever, this is his absolute best.
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DerS.Jul 10, 2008