Up to Here

Canada's favorite boys the Tragically Hip push the sounds of heartland and down-home country-rock on their second album, Up to Here. This album also marks the band's first stateside release, and basically it's a record of burgeoning talent, suggesting what is yet to come from the Tragically Hip. Frontman Gordon Downie is raw and rugged, twisting American trad rock into gritty rock & roll. There's a lot of heartfelt emotion woven into pure musical swagger on songs like "New Orleans Is Sinking" and "When the Weight Comes Down." "Blow at High Dough" follows the lead of its foot-stompin', hand-clappin' rock tracks. ~ MacKenzie Wilson