Dramatic and melodic, Saskatchewan native Straker is a throw-back to days when a piano and sincerity ruled. Classically trained, there are lots of echoes of '60's and '70's pop, back when the writers, producers and arrangers worked at keyboards, looking for the right rhyme or change, what chord to end the middle eight with.
Straker isn't stuck in the past; I Wanna Go Back There is suitably stripped down, with an echoed beat behind it, and a bit of dark soul to go with it. But it's clear he's more concerned with substance than style. Choruses soar, piano accents are always impeccable, everything is ear-pleasing. I think the mix of ballads to uptempo tracks is off by a couple. The rolling number Like It's The Last One is one of the best here, a bit of a country-pop feel, almost like a Glen Campbell single. It's all classy though.
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