Chinook Waltz

When you click the ‘Music’ tab on Over the Moon’s website, the introductory note says, ‘With this album, we tried to give folks a glimpse into what it’s like living on a ranch in the foothills of southwestern Alberta’s Rocky Mountains.’ True to their words, Craig Bignell and Suzanne Levesque delivered the goods on the husband-and-wife duo’s sophomore album, Chinook Waltz. Suffused with sublime harmony singing and seasoned with instrumental verve, the album’s ten tracks cover a variety of genres from straight-up bluegrass (‘Lonesome Bluebird’) and Western swing (‘They Can’t Blackout the Moon’) to Canadian roots (Ian Tyson’s ‘Someday Soon’) and Tex-Mex blues (Buddy and Judy Miller’s ‘I Can’t Get Over You’).

The couple’s original composition, ‘John Ware’, which tells the tale of a black slave from South Carolina who becomes a legendary Canadian cowboy, checks all the boxes with fine harmony vocalising, a compelling melody and lilting rhythm distinguished by Bruce Hoffman’s outstanding fiddling and steel guitar playing. Another original, ‘I’m Not Cool’, tickles the funny bone with a satirical take on the music biz whimsically punctuated by Cédric Blary’s clarinet, Dennis Keldie’s accordion, Chad Irschick’s strategic door slam and an authentic Over the Moon yodel-lay-hee-hoo.