Forever Endeavour Cooking Vinyl ***

When talk of Ron Sexsmith's songwriting skills crops up, there are, quite simply, only varying levels of excellence to discuss. His Long Player Late Bloomer (2011) is the best album Paul McCartney at his most talented never wrote, so the inevitable question arises: what comes next? Well, Forever Endeavouris good but it's no classic – not even close. Indeed, it pains to write that it's one of Sexsmith's weakest albums. Even so, tracks such as Snake Road, Lost in Thought and Me, Myself and Wine continue to hit home, refusing to budge on their subjects of infidelity, emotional despair and on-the-road loneliness. Even on a down day, Sexsmith has an intuitive knack of rising to the occasion. ronsexsmith.com

Download:Snake Road, Lost in Thought and Me, Myself