Originally titled to evoke images of a quiet, unassuming kid, Winnipeg's Nathan stayed in character when it released a quiet unassuming debut that turned out to be one of the finest independent albums Winnipeg has ever produced. Stranger, originally released in 2001, made brilliant use of singer-guitarist Keri McTighe's uniquely fragile-sounding, unusually high pitched voice in tandem with similarly toned accordionis Shelley Marshall. 

On its second album, the Winnipeg outfit all but abandons the folkish indie-rock of its debut album for more conventional-some would say fashionable-old-tyme music and country-folk. Producer John Switzer, a member of Toronto roots act The Brothers Cosmoline, appears to have toned down the band's quirkiness, which makes for a big suprise for people acquainted with Stranger. However, listeners who aren't encumbered by prior knowledge of Nathan will have no problem eating up Jimson Weed, a relatively timeless-sounding album with more stellar, subtle McTighe-Marshall vocal harmonies.

Most of the new songs are countryish laments set in a pre-modern era where bad things happened to ordinary people all the time. Many are variations on a two-four oompah beat, the finest being Stone, a vivid expression of loss, and the more pastoral Lock Your Devils Up, an utterly-true-to-Manitoba tribute to the awesome power of a Prairie summer storm. The only remnant of the band's old indie-pop sound is I Left My Station, where a radio-worthy chorus is nicely tangled in a mess of guitars. Jimson Weed may not be as subtle or understated as its predecessor, but the band's commitment to exceptional songwriting-where every lyric is wedded to an appropriate sound-remains. 4 out of 5 stars

Bartley Kives