MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: KEITH MULLINS - ONWARD & UPWARD

Oh, what to do if you're Cape Breton's Mullins, and feel comfortable in so many songwriting styles? Pop, folk, country, a little hip-hop, heck, even a children's choir shows up in his music. The solution is this double album collection, loosely separated into one pop set (Onward) and the other (Upward) more on the folk/country side, although there's plenty of blending back and forth.

The pop set has a more beats, bells and whistles, for the most part supplied by Halifax producer Jason Mingo (Meaghan Smith). This sounds completely in character for Mullins, with his smooth, higher-pitched vocals and lots of great harmonies. Songs such as For Tonight have excellent melodies, and lots of upbeat warmth. Lightning Strikes moves into some R'n'B, and grooves along enough to hit the dance floor. And the collaboration king, Classified himself, takes the producer chair for Free Falling On A Feeling. It's one of those hybrid country/hip-hop tracks, complete with Duane "D.O." Gibson's bridge raps, but still with room for harmonica bites.

So it's already a programmer's nightmare, but who cares except them? It all sounds great no matter what genre you try to stuff it into. Free Falling On A Feeling alone would sit well on pop, country and urban playlists. And that's just the first half. Over on the Upward side, you get Mullins' more story-telling material, and a whole different kind of production. This is roots-oriented, starting out with the fiddle-driven cut Love Will Conquer All, but with a rock 'n' roll organ and rhythm, a barn-burner. You get more life snapshots here, like Howlin' At The Moon, a true tale of young Mr. Mullins and his crew painting a Sydney train bridge one wild night (rotten kids). And more kids, these ones good, show up on Where The Rivers Meet The Ocean, this time the school choir from Tatamagouche, who help explain that's the translation of their town's name. That one comes out as a gorgeous folk anthem.

Onward & Upward are going out to fans now digitally on his website at a special price, or you can pre-order a double-vinyl copy now, for when they become available at shows and stores in November. You early birds get the honour of getting your name in the thank-you credits.