Practicing and perfecting their sound in bar after bar down the Montreal to Waterloo corridor, Urban Preacher recorded this self-titled EP in a Toronto studio and did so while managing to keep the bar and beer sound. What has been called dirty southern country, jazz, blues, and a touch of rock, they fit like a glove the locales they perform in throughout Ontario and Canada. Girl down on her luck, Myrrhine Faller has the spunk and range to make it happen in any Toronto lounge, too.

Unsurprisingly receiving a lot of radio play, the EP begins with a harmonica song called “On The Rooftop” with just enough country and just enough of a twang to satisfy a diverse audience – cowboy boots perfectly acceptable, it would go over well at the Calgary Stampede. It’s followed by a slow dance single called “Vintage Girl”, with lyrics like “I’m amazed and I’m fazed that we’re still in this haze,” is bluesy, but I still see those cowboy hat wearing couples dancing.

The funky song “Strange Obsession” has a surprising rap portion to it but tells of the eclectic range of abilities and talents throughout this young six piece band, with additional back up vocals by Hanna Wilson and Eva Tolkin. And in particular multi-instrumentalist Jordan Safer who does guitar, keys and harmonica.

As much as Urban Preacher could charm most audiences in bars throughout Canada and on the CBC, you immediately think that there is much more to this band of versatile musicians who have come together only briefly and not quite figured where they are going. They have only been together since 2007, formed somewhere around Montreal’s McGill University. It is nevertheless a talented start. They’d fit right in way down south, too.

Faller proves her singing voice in “Moanin’ The Blues” along with lots of sax, and the title “Lady Luck” will appeal to the office party crowd. Then “It’s a Living” is a song about the difficulties of earning a living as a ‘workin’ girl’ singing “They say it’s a living babe so don’t go knockin’ it.”

Produced by the Grammy Award-winner George Massenburg, this EP is a professional start but I can still see a lot more coming from this group. Slow motion enough to be blues and heel kicking enough for country, but it doesn’t quite get down to the sweating buckets of heavy blues.

Track Listing:

1. On the Rooftop
2. Vintage Girl
3. Strange Obsession
4. Moanin' the Blues
5. Lady Luck
6. It’s a Living