(Indie Rock/Folk/Alternative) Wax Mannequin - No Safe Home - 2012, MP3, 320 kbps

Wax Mannequin has released 5 previous albums over a period of more than decade, and Canadian songwriter also known as Chris Adeney will keep on keeping on by releasing his sixth LP, No Safe Home. A press release notes that this is “a subdued collection of ethereal and sombre folk songs that are rife with the minstrel’s wry wit, morose personal observations, veiled social commentary and uplifting (if understated) melodic cadences.” The record was engineered and co- produced by Nick Johannes of the Kettle Black, resulting in a ”hauntingly spacious, sparsely produced, acoustic gem.” It follows 2009′s Saxon.
The record kicks off with the rustic, almost fireside folk of “Black Bells” (later revisiting in an instrumental form). On that song he creates a feeling of loneliness, but a loneliness that is warm and cozy. That’s in stark opposition to the desolate, wintry “Other Part”.
Entering the realm of creepy is “Beware”. The eerie feeling is in keeping with the best of American Gothic murder balladry.
Few musicians get as much mileage out of a simple whistle as Wax Mannequin. On tracks like “The Water” and “Body Black Body White” it’s the whistle that provides the melody that sucks you into the cogs of the clockwork guitar strum. He attains a similar effect with the catchy backing vocals on “Bison”.