MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: THE EAST POINTERS - WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND

After their exciting debut, 2015's Secret Victory won them a Juno award, P.E.I.'s East Pointers haven't looked back. They've become hugely popular festival and theatre performers in several global markets, and are about to head out for a 11-date U.K. tour. That shows how big an appetite there is for the group's updated take on East Coast trad, and it's fed back into their songs as well. 82 Fires, the first single from the new album, comes from a conversation with a lifelong Tasmanian resident, who told them about the record number of wildfires plaguing his country. Environmental concerns touch everyone, no matter what side of the world your Island paradise is on.

What's new for this release is a sound boost from Grammy-winning songwriter and fellow East Coaster Gordie Sampson, who produced the album in Nashville and helped on some of the writing. The tracks have a more modern feel, with atmospheric touches layered in the background, but it's still the basic trio of top musicians, Koady Chiasson on banjo, Tim Chiasson fiddling and Jake Charron on guitar. The vocal tracks, featuring the sweet pipes of Tim, get a little more production, and you can hear Sampson's hitmaking prowess at work, but with a singer like Chiasson, well, he's just waiting to break more hearts. His vocal cuts are full of emotion, and it's a fun contrast to the often-lively instrumentals that continue to be the core sound of the group. This is a group moving up, and fast.