Top 10 Albums of 2008: #7 Blood's Too Rich by Luke Doucet and White Falcon

Like She and Him, Luke Doucet is an artist who I heard for the first time in 2008. But unlike She and Him, Doucet's '08 release is not his first... far from it in fact. Blood's Too Rich is his fourth solo release, and he's been making music in his native Canada since the mid-nineties. Doucet is probably best known for his gig as a guitar player in Sarah McLaughlin's band, but I first found him through his association with another Canadian songstress.

Doucet played some dates with Kathleen Edwards this spring when she was touring in support of her own 2008 release, Asking for Flowers (stay tuned for that one later in the countdown). I started seeing Doucet's name in connection with Edwards, and then started seeing live mp3's of the two of them popping up on line. Eventually, I found a recording of Edwards and Doucet performing cover of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" at a show in San Francisco. My curiosity was triggered enough for me to give Doucet's music a try.

I found a copy of Blood's Too Rich at the radio station and gave it a spin. The opening track, "Long Haul Driver," is a variation on the classic country idiom of the Truck Driving Song. While the lazy strums that power the song do provide a rootsy flavor, it's Doucet's sparsely placed lead electric playing that gives the song its definition.

The opening track is followed by the title cut and the album's highlight. "Blood's Too Rich" is a muscular tune that provides instant ear candy and again finds the delicate balance between an acoustic base and bold electric flourishes. It's one of my favorite tracks of the year.

Other highlights include a rollicking cover of The Cure's "The Lovecats," and ode a late member of The Band on "The Day Rick Danko Died," and the slow burning album closer "Bombs Away." All in all, probably my favorite previously established artist who I discovered in 2008. I will be keeping an eye out for some of Doucet's previous recordings.

Luke Doucet: Long Haul Driver (Buy Album)
Luke Doucet: Blood's Too Rich (Buy Album)