Jason Collett rarely tires of exploring the limits of his 1970s songwriter fascination, and
Rat A Tat Tat finds him evoking the rootsy, sun-dappled sounds of
George Harrison,
Bob Dylan, and
Kris Kristofferson. By now a major player in Toronto’s indie scene, he ambles through these 11 tracks with help from a number of local musicians, including
Robbie Lackritz (
Feist’s former sound engineer) and longtime partners
Carlin Nicholson and Michael O’Brien -- who, after recording 2008’s
Here’s to Being Here, began pursuing their own interests by launching the pop band
Zeus.
Rat A Tat Tat has its share of poppy moments, too, but
Collett is more concerned with appropriating the sounds of yesteryear’s rock staples, from the classic rock slide guitars that fill “Lake Superior” to the elegiac “Long May You Love,” which could’ve been lifted from
Harrison’s
All Things Must Pass. There's also an eccentricity to the album, whose quirks and lighthearted appeal make it a logical sequel to
Here's to Being Here. Few songs from either record match the bombast of his work with
Broken Social Scene, perhaps, but
Collett’s albums are better viewed as part of a whole, and
Rat A Tat Tat strengthens the country-fried side of his solo personality. ~ Andrew Leahey