Trouble Mercy Prairie Boy Records * * * *

If music had a quota system, then the category of singer- songwriter would be closed due to overcrowding. Thankfullythere isn’t, because Cam Penner and his emotional songs of lives lived and experiences endured and enjoyed deserve to be heard in all their stoical splendour. Penner was born into a Mennonite community in Manitoba but left to work in a women’s shelter and run a soup kitchen in Chicago. Returning to Canada, he distilled his belief in social justice into songs of quiet, melodic intensity that are low on preaching and high on warmth and empathy. His gruff, lived-in voice belies the tenderness that flows through these 11 slow, soulful, folky tunes, anchored

by his acoustic guitar but embellished by sparse electric guitar, banjo and piano. Sure, there are shades of early Dylan, Steve Earle and Sam Baker, but there’s no shame in that. Check out the intriguing Thirteen and the passionate title track. See campenner.com

Download tracks: Trouble Mercy, Thirteen