Ron Sexsmith is so anti-cool that this may actually be one the coolest albums you hear. The Toronto singer/songwriter's appearance matches his music perfectly -- hair falling in tousled bangs over doe eyes and baby face; one of those guys who always got beat up in high school and couldn't string two words together in front of a real live girl without stammering. A wide-eyed innocent,
Sexsmith's eponymous release marries the wonder of
Jonathan Richman with the darker atmosphere of a
Daniel Lanois. Superficially, the songs are so sparsely childlike that you're tempted to wonder if
Sexsmith is either a master of affectation or some kind of idiot savant. ~ Roch Parisien