Western Canadian Music Awards named Jay Gilday 2017’s, ‘Indigenous Artist of the Year’ and from the first notes on his 2016 album, ‘Faster Than Light’, one already begins to understand why. Gilday’s lone guitar at the top of the album’s opening track, ‘Guess I’ll See You’ builds quickly as his band joins in one by one. Drums, bass, guitars and keys combine to frame the bold, rust worn voice of Jay Gilday. Gilday’s delivery is something to behold, something unique to be sure.
Throughout Faster Than Light’s 10 tracks, Gilday reveals a spectacular range and strength as his voice flits, booms and just plain rock ’n’ rolls, depending on the ingredient called for by the song. On ‘Wake Up’ Gilday and company concoct a driving, dreamlike party atmosphere. An infectious organ line tugs at the listener as it intersects with a brilliant horn section, adding a sense of pandemonium. The album only gets better from there.
It’s hard to pin down or categorize Faster Than Light all together. Is it folk? Is it rock? Maybe it’s dixieland…? Nah. Your guesses may be better than mine considering I stopped trying and started dancing on my way to finding an answer. I imagine if Hawksley Workun and Daniel Lanois had a child together and that child went on to create a piece of gorgeous music, it may make Jay Gilday’s brand a little simpler to describe. Until that child is produced, Gilday and the band are trailblazers. Something unique is going on here.
Faster Than Light is destined to be remembered as one of Canada’s best albums of the early 2000s in the same vein that Jeff Buckley is still revered the world over despite his small splash. That Gilday has many albums to come may go far to elevate any pain music fans have felt knowing Buckley’s discography is final. On Faster Than Light’s title track, Gilday does not leave anything behind, giving what one might believe is everything he has to give both sonically and emotionally. Joe Cocker himself would swoon over Gilday’s ability to swivel back and forth between the lightest touches to gutteral cries of passion. The musical dynamics play at the same game, causing the listener to join Gilday and the band down a path where, “you gotta feel the pain to push on through”.
The band, along with Gilday have a very unique ability to raise the musical stakes, track after track, never letting the listener get too comfortable. Even on a ballad like, ‘Alleys and Rocks’ or the down tempo, ‘Just Another Number’ Gilday manages to put more of himself onto the recordings. Each song is very personal at times and always rings absolutely true. Nothing is ‘canned’ on Faster Than Light. Every stitch of music and turn of phrase is authentic. The listener feels every note played and sang.
Jay Gilday is an artist in a greater sense than most of what’s being played on the radio these days. Everything on offer on Faster Than Light comes from a real place as opposed to a computer filter or processor. There’s nothing perfect about any of the album’s 10 tracks, ultimately making it more palatable to true music lovers.
Faster Than Light never really does, ‘wind down’. There’s so much to love about these song. Surprises abound, styles alter from blues to pop to rock to anthemic folk and just plain joy. Faster Than Light deserves repeat listening. Jay Gilday will be a household name in Canada and beyond one day soon. I expect Faster Than Light to remain relevant to our musical landscape for many years to come.
-- Val Christopher
Listen Now
On Capital City Records!
Listen Now
On Capital City Records!